New York Minute 113 - Near Miss

It was a crisp, clear Saturday afternoon in October. The weather was perfect for a run. It felt a little chilly when I first stepped out of my building, but once I got started, it was delightful. I felt strong and well-rested. My legs felt powerful, and I was full of energy.

I prefer to run on the street - I run in the space between the parked cars and the moving traffic - but I’ll retreat to the sidewalk without hesitation when traffic gets heavy. At one point, I turned a corner onto an avenue and saw a big wave of cars headed in my direction. A black SUV, the kind that’s popular with car service drivers, was standing in a parking space just ahead of me. I had to make a quick decision. I could take a chance and run between the SUV and the moving traffic, or I could switch to the sidewalk where I would be far less likely to be struck by a moving vehicle.

I decided to take the safe route and run on the sidewalk, but I did have concerns. I know from past runs that the concrete sidewalk is uneven on this block. I once twisted my ankle while making a similar defensive maneuver at this same location. I went up onto the sidewalk and continued to run while minding my footing carefully.

It was one of those moments where everything goes wrong despite the fact that I had decided upon the “safe” option of running on the sidewalk. The black SUV was indeed a car service vehicle. A passenger, a lady around my age, had emerged from the passenger door and walked around the back of the SUV where I couldn’t see her. She stepped out from behind the vehicle and up onto the sidewalk about half an arm’s length in front of me. Suddenly, she was RIGHT THERE. A crash was imminent. It was physically impossible for me to stop that quickly. She wasn’t looking and had no idea that a running, 90kg man was about to plow into her.

The only option the came to mind was to twist my body in an effort to glide past just in front of her. This tactic was relatively successful. My cheekbone grazed her forehead, but that was the only impact. The downside was that the torque rendered me unstable. After gliding past the lady, I fell flat onto my back on the sidewalk. Luckily, it was an exceptionally clean fall. I kept my head tucked, so it didn’t hit the concrete. I wasn’t hurt at all. 

“Are you okay?” asked the shocked lady. I was relieved to see that she was unharmed and still standing.

“Are YOU okay?” I asked with genuine concern.

“Yes, but you fell.”

“I am completely okay,” I assured her. “I’m so glad that you weren’t hurt.”

“My God! Did you see that?” she asked of a man who was walking on the sidewalk. I was getting back to my feet at this point.

“Yeah!”

I put my hand gently on her shoulder. “I’m so glad that you’re okay.” I turned and started running, hoping to leave the whole incident behind me.

I’m pretty proud of my impromptu stunt, a last ditch effort to save a fellow pedestrian from injury. It could have been so much worse. 

No more running on the sidewalk for me. It’s too dangerous.

Copyright © 2018 Daniel R. South 

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