Objective: endurance, getting back to long runs (3 wks since marathon) Weather: 33 to 36 F, raining. Ah, bare pavement. I'll take this rain any day. It was so nice to have smooth, solid ground underfoot. I did have to hop into the mountains of crud at the sides of the road, but it was glorious to have the road back again. I think I will never be much of a trail runner. A huge interruption -- of time and emotional well-being -- occurred at about mile 7. I was running down a hill towards the entrance to the golf course at Eagle Lake, which was blocked by a pickup truck parked sideways across the road. A man by the truck looked frantic and I thought for a moment his truck was broken down. He asked me whether this was the only exit from the golf course. "Yes." Long story short: he was in construction, had been working at a nearby site, had his tools stolen and followed the thieves to this point, where he was blocking them in. The thieves thought they were headed for the open Parkway, but were trapped in the golf course grounds. I found out that he had not phoned 911 yet, so I did that on my own cell (so glad I always carry it!). A fist fight between the good guys and the bad guys, flashing police cars and a car chase later, I was running again but somewhat shaken. I observed as much as I could and related it to the dispatcher as it happened, until my cell phone died. Regret #1: not keeping my cell phone charged every day. (I use it so little.) Regret #2: not politely ending my 911 call so that I could take a picture of the thieves with my phone -- completely forgot I had that option. Regret #3: forgetting I had pepper spray right there in my hand -- I got so frightened when the men were fighting and I backed way off, putting myself out of view of the thief's truck. When a truck just like it sped away past me, I told the dispatcher I didn't think it was the thief because a) I no longer had his original position in my sight and b) I didn't think he could get around the victim's truck. Otherwise, why on earth would he have stopped in the first place? The police arrived seconds later and could have stopped that other truck if they suspected it. The thieves abandoned their truck a few minutes later and fled on foot.
Although I know I helped, by calling 911 (I believe the victim couldn't find his phone at first), I feel bad that I wasn't more helpful and that I was mistaken about the fleeing truck. On top of this, I feel terrible that a man's livelihood was almost taken from him, in the middle of a depression. I don't know whether the thieves were caught. A good deal later I was stopped by one of the police cars to discuss the man at large, for whom they were still searching. They did not know about the second thief, a young woman, and I was able
to give them a description of her (partial redemption). They were very nice to me, and didn't even tell me to stop running in the street, probably seeing that the sidewalks were still a good place to break one's neck.
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