pedestrian case histories, part one: the loping rover

You may remember this post I wrote a while back about a couple of fellow runners, Barbie and The Hooded Shuffler, who I see out on the road. Well, I got a wonderful suggestion to make a weekly series out of my descriptions of the people I see on my runs. I haven't had time to get started until now and I'm not yet sure whether I'll have time for a regular weekly post or if they'll be more sporadic. Between now and my marathon in October I'll be providing in-depth analysis of the gaits, outdoor habits, and inner workings of the minds (well, maybe just theories on that) of some of my favorite fellow pedestrians.

This week I'd like to highlight The Loping Rover.

I've gotten to know The Loping Rover quite intimately over the last four years or so. I see her every morning, loping her way along one of the back roads I take to work. First let's talk about her habits and routine, and then I'll get to the loping part.

Every morning around quarter of seven, she's there. She follows an out-and-back route. I always thought that her entire route was this one road, but one morning I was driving by earlier than usual and saw her coming from another side road. How exciting! She is always walking, not a runner, except for the one time I caught her riding a bike! Wow! My entire morning was actually a little thrown off by that. I've also deducted the direction she starts from and returns to on her roving adventures. Well, they're not adventures really, because she follows the same route every single morning.

Now let's get to appearance and gait analysis. The Loping Rover wears the same clothing every day. In winter, she adds gloves and a scarf. Otherwise, it's a pair of dark wash jeans constructed in the early nineties and a navy blue crew neck sweatshirt. She wears hiking boots. The Loping Rover is skinny and lanky looking, has short salt and pepper hair, and wears unfashionable glasses. Her gait is something like I've never seen before, and it took a while to figure out exactly what makes it so strange. She walks unevenly, almost as if one leg is longer than the other. She lopes! Her arms move together, forward and back, forward and back, rather than in an alternating pattern. The odd arm movement must be what throws the rest of her gait off.

I so wish I could show you a picture or video, but of course I would never do that. My case history subjects will remain anonymous. I hope you've enjoyed the tale of The Loping Rover. Stay tuned for another case history coming soon!