It was one of those tragic stories that too often fills the newscasts these days. A young coach and teacher from Manteno was killed in the early morning hours Tuesday. He was remembered throughout the community as a strong role model for the young men he coached in wrestling and football. I never met Cory Blanchette. But when I saw a picture of his family, including four young children, I got a lump in my throat. His children appear to be close to the ages of my own four children.
Blanchette was killed when he was struck by a car while running. He was on a rural road in town at about six in the morning. The coach, no doubt, was getting a workout in before starting his work day at school. It could have been any of us in the running community.
Running in areas where we share the road with cars is always dangerous. But this time of the year it is much more so. It is still dark these days before the time changes, until well after 7:00am. That means runners out on the road can be incredibly difficult to see.
I don't know too much about the circumstances in Blanchette's death, but we reported that a 21 year old Dolton man was driving southbound when his Monte Carlo hit Blanchette. While police are still investigating, they did not initially issue a citation to the driver. Here is a link to one of the stories that aired on ABC-7: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8415363
The driver may not have been at fault. Again, I don't know how visible Blanchette might have been as he ran along the road, but I've personally noticed plenty of runners and cyclists out in the dark who are nearly invisible until you are right upon them. I also know plenty runners who find the only time in their day to get out is early in the morning, or in the evening after work. If you are going to do that, you should make sure you are as visible as possible.
My evening work schedule allows me to do most of my running in mid-morning, so I don't often run in the dark. Most of the night running I have done recently has been during those round-the-clock relays, such as Madison to Chicago, and Hood to Coast.
The rules for those races are pretty strict when it comes to lights and reflective gear. Even though the road is usually crowded with runners taking part in a race, organizers enforce rules that call for runners to wear head lamps, reflective vests and 'blinkie' lights. I usually wear light colored clothing with reflective strips, and carry a small flashlight as well.
When we are running on our own, not in race, many of us might be tempted to skip out on some of that gear. That would be a mistake. Here is a link to a safety guide I found for night running on the active.com site: http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Your_Guide_to_Safe_Night_Runs.htm
Distracted driving is a big issue these days, and it is a real issue for runners at all hours of the day. I have lots of friends who have had close calls, or been hit by cars whose drivers went through intersections without bothering to notice the runner (who has the right of way).
It happened most recently to my friend and long-time runner Dave Zimmer. he was out on a training run for this weekend's New York marathon when a driver on a cell phone failed to look as he made a turn at an intersection. He plowed right into Dave, who dove onto the hood, and fortunately was not seriously injured. This happened in broad daylight.
As the owner of Fleet Feet Sports, Dave advises other runners on safety and equipment. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone. It's something to think about.
Be safe out there, and I'll see you on the roads.....
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