Runners' Rights

For five years now, about 100 joggers of all ages, sizes and lung capacities have huffed away their Sunday mornings together along the streets of Los Altos Hills, Calif. The bucolic town, 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, offered a peaceful setting for the so-called fun runs--until David Proft, a town councilman and high school teacher, got irritated by the hordes that streamed past his home on narrow Moody Road. Charging that group jogging constituted a public danger to motorists and to the runners themselves, he persuaded the town council to draw up an ordinance that would force two or more joggers running together to obtain a special permit from police. Enraged by such Big Brotherism, the joggers sprinted down to city hall last week to plead their case. One spokesman for the runners pointed out that more than 250,000 miles had been jogged in the Los Altos area without an accident. A woman settled the debate. "This is all nonsense," she said. "We don't need any ordinances. We can improve safety regulations, have signs warning drivers about joggers and ensure that joggers obey the law." Case dismissed.

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