The Dangers of Running

Most of you are probably going “huh? running is good for you? how is it dangerous?” Well, if you don’t run, I am here to tell you, be careful, it can be hazardous to your health! Let me give you some examples:
Dogs. yes dogs. We have a leash law in our neighborhood, but does that stop people from letting their dogs run amuck like crazy kids in a toy store? Of course not! Who follows the rules anyway!!! I am here to tell you, I am very observant when I run, and am always on the lookout, and searching for the closest car that I can potentially jump on the roof of. What is even more scary is when there are dogs inside of electric fences that you don’t know exist (the fence not the dog.) There is one particular house with such a fence, and a very large, scary, dog. One day, I was minding my own business, running on the sidewalk, and said dog comes sprinting out of nowhere, right towards me. As I went flying into the street, nearing peeing my pants, the dog suddenly stops dead in his tracks. This is when notice…the collar…UG. So i totally just freaked out for nothing. I was NOT amused.
Next danger is signs. I have the story of my best friend for this one. She was running one day, no one else was home, and she somehow managed to trip on a yard sign that was sticking out. She fell and cut up her hands and legs and broke a bone in her foot and had to hobble a long way back home on her poor broken foot since no one was home to come get her. Isn’t that sad? I am now very careful of stop signs, yard signs, and the like. I kind of like my feet and do not want to break them.
Third danger is the road itself. This story did not happen to my same friend but to someone she knows. A lady was out walking in the dark one morning, tripped on a part of the road, face planted, and had to get stitches in her face! WOW! I would not only feel stupid but ouch!!! Poor woman.
The dark reminds me of my next danger, well…the dark. This is hazardous for me more mentally than anything. I ama chicken. I do not like the dark. Therefore, I do not run alone in the dark. Creepy things live in the dark/woods! Talk about giving me nightmares! The physical dangers of dark are also very scary because if you are running on the road, in the dark, NOT wearing reflective gear (shame shame) you could very easily be hit by a not so fun thing, yes, a car.
The last thing I want to discuss is regional scary things. For instance, I was home for Christmas in Louisiana, running with my mom next to a swamp.Let me tell you, the entire run I kept my eyes on that watery mess just waiting for an alligator to jump out and eat me! Or a snake. Obviously a snake couldn’t eat me, but, you get the idea. I kept looking for things I could climb on if necessary. I have watched animal planet. I know how fast those things move! With that being said, what are some regional things that are dangers of running near you? I can think of some from other regions, but first want to see what others come up with before I list the ones I thought of.
On a side note, I think running is great, and the benefits largely outweigh the hazards, but I like to file things like this under the cabinet in my brain labeled “good to know” just in case that dog’s electric fence isn’t turned on….

SO running. I only ran 2 miles today. The wind was horrid and my nose was running so badly and I couldn’t breathe. awesome.
look at this pretty picture I took on my way to work. It was a gorgeous day, high of 61 and sunny!