Dear Editor:

My friend and I run anywhere from 3-5 times a week to stay fit and to enjoy our beautiful town. We run all over Boothbay Harbor and surrounding areas. When possible and safe, we run against traffic but sometimes we have to run with traffic. We rarely run on the sidewalks and that seems to be an issue for people in cars as they are always yelling at us to “get on the sidewalk.”

Last night I was running alone on the east side. I was running against traffic, between the white line and the sidewalk --- the place where you would ride your bike if you were riding. A man in a truck, traveling the same direction as me (so on the other side of the road), slowed down to yell at me to get on the sidewalk. He continued to yell at me as he drove by. He then turned around and harassed me again coming from the other direction. This has happened more times than I can count over the years.

Firstly, running on the sidewalk in Boothbay Harbor is not possible or safe. The sidewalks this time of year are filled with people, dogs, babies and strollers. There is literally no room to run. In addition, the sidewalks are cracked, frost heaved, uneven and basically you are asking to turn an ankle.

Secondly, we pay taxes in this town and state and have the same rights to the road as cars do. Obviously, we should do this in the most safe manner possible and do our best not to be in the way of the vehicles.

It is a pretty sad state when drivers feel the need to express such anger at people who are just trying to enjoy the outdoors and stay healthy. It might take an extra 3-4 seconds to drive around us; does that really ruin your day?

Can we all just be a little more tolerant of people? We will do our best to stay out of the way so no one has to slow down, and instead of honking or yelling at us when driving by, maybe wave and say hello instead.

Michelle Bouchard

Boothbay Harbor