Haynes
Jogger
Registered: 01/20/08
Posts: 106
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 12:05 PM | Reply with quote #1 |
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Last night I did the 11.2 as part of a long run and had a strange experience. Just after the 9 mile hill where the 11.2 and 5.8 routes meet up it was 8:40pm and getting pretty dark. Without warning, I felt a talon-like thing on the back of my head. My instant reaction was to start sprinting. I looked back and didn't see anything. I had not heard anything so I started to doubt myself that anything had happened at all. But I realized that I wouldn't hear much over the constant buzzing of the cicadas. Being quite a bit more than freaked out, I booked it to the end of the park where I would be safer running under the street lights of bellmeade blvd. After calming down a bit, I started to think about what had happened. My first thought was that it was a bird, but then I realized that birds don't hunt at night. So it was down to an owl or a bat. Then I thought of the monkeys...
I know that bats are the primary cause of human rabies in the US, so I got a little worried about that. Luckily, when I got back the internet told me that there have only been 22 cases of human rabies in the US ever. So I don't think that I am at much risk. Do any of you think I should be worried/get treated?
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Trent
Half Marathon
Registered: 05/09/05
Posts: 3,759
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 12:17 PM | Reply with quote #2 |
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Owls don't attack runners; they are docile. And bats rarely do. While there are owls in PWP, I am not aware that there are any bats there.
No, you were likely attacked by a flying monkey.
The mind cannot easily process the fantastical while under attack (or while running, as you do, at a high pace) and so it categorizes stimuli according to what it knows. It is very common, therefore, for runners to get attacked by monkeys and think them owls or bats.
They are not owls. And they are not bats.
They are monkeys. Winged monkeys. And they are angry.
The good news is that you escaped. And that monkeys are rarely rabid, although their demeanor often is.
Count thy blessings.
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Bilbrey
Runner
Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 371
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 12:56 PM | Reply with quote #3 |
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Congratulations on escaping without injury - I have been attacked once (near Lea's Summit) and witnessed a vicious attack pre dawn at the .5 mile post in which the creature knocked my buddy's hat off.
Don't bother contacting the rangers. The monkeys are their friends and allies. They will tell you that it is your fault for encroaching on their territory.
My suggestion, If you must run PWP, wear a bicycle helmet for protection - -- or even better sign up for the marathon. There is safety in numbers! |
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Haynes
Jogger
Registered: 01/20/08
Posts: 106
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 02:03 PM | Reply with quote #4 |
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Unfortunately my scalps proprioception is not good enough to determine if the animal had opposable thumbs...
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bk
Jogger
Registered: 05/09/05
Posts: 114
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 04:21 PM | Reply with quote #5 |
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In all seriousness, it was probably a barred owl--there are many of them in the park and they frequently do come after runners. I have been a victim of the swoop on multiple occasions and have been grateful to have a thick head of hair. In talking with rangers, I found out that barred owls usually come out in the evening hours because they are a smaller breed and are considered prey by larger owls, flying monkeys, and deranged runners who attempt to run the 11.2 everyday during the month of July. |
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sparky
10ker, board elite
Registered: 12/14/07
Posts: 1,194
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 04:42 PM | Reply with quote #6 |
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Bats can not cause Rabbies just by touching you. They have to either bite you and draw blood OR get SLIVA on an open sore.. They are no flying monkeys at p.w park or e.w. park.. Yes owls like any bird or animal if aroused by noise or movement there is a small chance they will attack.. It probably was just a warning that u was in its space.. |
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Trent
Half Marathon
Registered: 05/09/05
Posts: 3,759
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 04:45 PM | Reply with quote #7 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by sparky
They are no flying monkeys at p.w park or e.w. park.
Nonbelievers abound.
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Grady
10ker, board elite
Registered: 07/20/07
Posts: 1,443
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 05:16 PM | Reply with quote #8 |
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Owls are freakily quiet. I had one come up behind me and fly over my left shoulder so close that its right wing came down in front of my face and blocked my vision. It never made a sound. It flew down the trail another 100 feet and landed in a tree to watch me run by. I stopped running and walked by.
It's unlikely that it was a bat.
The flying monkeys are mostly dangerous during mating season or after they've thrown down a few beers.
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sparky
10ker, board elite
Registered: 12/14/07
Posts: 1,194
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 05:27 PM | Reply with quote #9 |
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cHECKI OUT http://www.batmangement.com on Bats.. If you want to see "Flying Monkeys" watch The Wizard Of Oz.. NO FLYING MONKEYS in P.W. |
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Trent
Half Marathon
Registered: 05/09/05
Posts: 3,759
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 05:37 PM | Reply with quote #10 |
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Sparky sparky sparky.
It is a terrible pity, that horrible experience you had with the Monkeys. I don't blame you for living in denial. I don't blame you for trying to block the dark and horrible memories. Heck, I don't blame you for trying even to pretend they don't exist.
But we owe it to our fellow runners, citizens in our tight-knit community, to know the truth. Armed with that truth, they can protect themselves from the dangers that lurk in the trees.
The best way to help is to share the truth of our experiences.
No monkeys in PWP? Hogwash. You know it to be true. Heck, it is even on the internet, so it must be so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpeth_Hills_Flying_Monkey_Marathon
http://harpethhillsmarathon.com/monkey.html
Be careful and be thee warned...
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sparky
10ker, board elite
Registered: 12/14/07
Posts: 1,194
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 06:46 PM | Reply with quote #11 |
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trent what have you been smoking to see flyings monkeys? And i taught my homeis had all the good stuff.. lol lol |
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JK
Walker
Registered: 05/28/08
Posts: 18
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 07:20 PM | Reply with quote #12 |
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The monkeys are real.
Lack of faith is a bad, bad idea.
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bk
Jogger
Registered: 05/09/05
Posts: 114
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 08:25 PM | Reply with quote #13 |
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In his prime Charlton Heston could have taken the monkeys, now I fear that they may be unstoppable. |
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RunnerWild
Runner
Registered: 05/24/08
Posts: 305
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| Posted 07/25/08 at 10:36 PM | Reply with quote #14 |
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The monkeys that inhabit harpeth hills are alive but they carry the souls of dead bus drivers. They never got the respect they needed in life so they will get it in Death.
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sparky
10ker, board elite
Registered: 12/14/07
Posts: 1,194
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| Posted 07/26/08 at 08:08 AM | Reply with quote #15 |
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I also heard they were dead T.V, Evangelist one sort of look like Tammy Faye Bakker. If you got a little make up un you or you could smell hair spray maybe it's true.. |
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