Plenty of People Work Out in Cemetaries...

Every day, on my way to and from work, I pass by a very large and breathtakingly beautiful cemetery. Today, driving home, I saw a man jogging on one of the trails and it reminded me of something I’d been pondering for a while.

Several weeks ago, I was riding in the car with a friend of mine and we were talking about motivation and working out…specifically about motivation to work out. My friend, a very active and disciplined athlete (a marine, marathon runner, etc) was trying to motivate me to become more active. As I allowed myself to entertain this thought for a while and actually visualize the picture he was painting here…he asked popped the question (no, not THAT question): “So what would make running fun for you?”

{Keep in mind that he’s been trying to motivate me to run for almost 2 years now and, for me, “running” and “fun” are mutually exclusive terms.}

My response: “I guess it would depend on where the running would take place. I mean sidewalks seem kind of dangerous and treadmills don’t really seem fun. So, if there was some kind of beautiful place I could enjoy while running…yes, I think that’d be nice.” *I think you may be able to see where this is going…* Continuing the conversation, my friends asks “Well, ok, is there some kind of park near here where you could run?” …at which point I motion nonchalantly towards the window and reply “Well, I’ve always thought this one is very pretty.”…He does a double take to see if I’m serious and shouts “You mean in a cemetery?!”

So I get chided and teased about this for several days and, sitting here right now, I can still hear his laugh when I remember the convo…

Now I’m curious…just what DOES cemetery etiquette dictate in this instance? Is it inappropriate or irreverent or disrespectful to run on the trails in a cemetery? It just doesn’t seem right to limit the use of the pristine grounds to, well; I’m not quite sure how to word this part delicately so I’m leavin this one alone… I mean it’s not like I’m practicing a golf swing or playing ultimate Frisbee or tag football or anything! And I’m not advocating having a picnic there or camping out there either. I’m just talking about simple jogging on the little trails…