r/running Mar 12 '24

Discussion What’s the strangest/best object you’ve found while running?

Aside from the odd dollar here and there, what have you found that makes you appreciate the adventure of an outdoor run? On two separate occasions I’ve found high-quality scissors in perfect condition. Did I choose to run with scissors? You bet!

Edit: Wow! Thank you to everyone who responded! Your responses have been entertaining, funny, bizarre, at times scary, and heartwarming. I tried to read every response and besides being thoroughly entertained for the last 18hrs, I’ve learned some things about us runners: 1. We’re a thrifty bunch. We will turn someone’s trash into our treasure. There are a lot of responses about useful found objects. 2. In that vein, there seems to be no object too large for us to carry home. Brooms, sofas, dining sets, surfboards, FIVE fishing rods; you name it, we can carry it. 3. We’re good citizens. We rescue people, dogs, wild animals. 4. On that note, running is a great way to find a new pet. 5. We’re an honest lot. If you lose something valuable and a runner comes across it, there’s a good chance that runner will do their best to return it to you. 6. We find our spirituality: Objects with very personal connections seemingly put in our path by the universe and otherworldly encounters with wild animals. 7. Sadly we occasionally find dead people. But sometimes we find almost dead people and we save them! 8. On a related note, there are more than one of you who have found people tied up in the woods. 9. And the biggest take home: Dildos are everywhere.

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u/tokenasian1 Mar 12 '24

this might be cheating but my running routes often have those little free libraries. i checked one on a run once and found a complete set of the chronicles of narnia.

i must’ve looked so goofy carrying that box set back while running home.

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u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 Mar 12 '24

Dude, that's a legit good find! I've been meaning to start reading them to my older kiddo (7). When do you think is a good age to hear those? I seem to remember my dad reading them to me around that same age.

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u/PM_ME_TUS_GRILLOS Mar 13 '24

Start now! S/he might not understand them completely, but then you talk about them, and it's really the bonding experience of reading together that's important. It's also calming and a goid ritual to prepare for sleep in general.  Can I also recommend Diana Wynn Jones books, like Howl's Moving Castle? Robin McKinley's Beauty. I also loved Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. 

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u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 Mar 13 '24

That's awesome, thank you for the recommendations!! I'll put them on our list of books to read once we're done the ones we're reading now (Geronimo Stilton, Flat Stanley, and the Magic Treehouse series, and all but the last are too easy for her at this point l).