I ran into a garden gate in the dark last night! It was painted black and left opened outwards across the footpath. Fortunately I spotted it in time to slow down sufficiently not to hurt myself.

This got me thinking about other hazards. I've bumped into a few cars which didn't pass as quickly as expected, tripped over raised kerbs and tarmac lifted by tree roots. I've run into a dog during a race, slipped in Goose poop, had to hurdle pigeons which were too daft to get out of the way and I'm sure I could come up with plenty of other examples - how about you?

I ran right into a tall hedge once - it was so dark I couldn't see where the path went.  Now I try to avoid running in the dark, but I know lots of you have no option for most of the year.

I'm not too keen on dead animals on the road.  I passed a dead badger once, thinking that if it wasn't actually dead I could be in serious trouble...  Fortunately it was.

Also found the very high kerbs in Greece a hazard on holiday.

If I ever get round to writing a sitcom- I swear you guys will be my inspriation!

HA HA HA this topic has me laffin out loud at work! I think the thing I've dodged most of recently, is people who pull their car half onto the kerb to let a passenger out. The passenger then opens the car door and gets out right into my path. Then on noticing me running down toward them stands gawping like a rabbit in headlights and STILL doesn't shut the door!! I have had to stop / run around and into the road / shout watch out to various degrees ha ha! Great topic!!

Once, running in a park in the evening gloom, I ran between an owner and his dog, not realising he had the dog on one of those long leads. At the last moment he realised i was going to trip over it so whipped it up high catching me neatly across the neck! Painful indeed, and the garotte mark took a bit of explaining over the next few days...

Ah Dave the infamous Cannon Hill Park goose poop.

My trips this year so far has been a bramble that had rooted itself across a narrow opening, which funnily enough I tripped over last year as well. The other one wasn't really a trip but more of a slip which was sheet ice on a footpath that I didn't see cos of the dark, so I had a Torvill and Dean moment on that.

Hee hee - some funny tales there. I'm I'm not the only fool running around!

I've just remembered another one from about 5 weeks ago:

It was quite dark, as I'd got home a bit later than usual. There's one stretch of road which I needed to cross, between cars parked along both sides, and what with the dark and the glare from car headlights I picked a gap where there was a small concrete bollard...

I could swear that bollard was never there before, but of course it must have been! I was very lucky in that I went flying over it but landed spread-eagled on a (parked) car bonnet without injury - even to my pride, as for once there was no audience!

I had to laugh.

It didn't slow me down, as that is still the fastest I've run that route!

Reminds me of them half Garfields Dave what you mount on the car grill, except on your case it was an over eager runner as a bonnet mount.

It's a good job there was no bonnet mascot already in place or I might have impaled myself (or worse!).