"Hoot! Hoot!"

March 9, 2013 3:09 PM

Givens occasionally wonders why his unique fitness regimen creates such inexplicable antipathy. But he doesn’t let it bother him too much. “I just keep on going,” Givens says. “Look here. A man my age ain’t supposed to be doing this. Once they see the shape I’m in, they think, ‘Well, he can’t be too crazy.’ ”

Cedric Givens, DC's backwards jogger. Direct link to Video
posted by peeedro (28 comments total)

Nearly forty years ago I ran a marathon. Part of the time a guy ran backwards next to me, chatting with me. I have exercise asthma, but I finally put on a burst of speed to get away from him because he was driving me crazy. When I saw this, I wondered if it was the same guy.
posted by Peach at 3:23 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Can the Washington Post expand this into a series so that I can learn why a guy comes to Franklin Park and does very small push ups everyday? Mini push up man is a real mystery.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:28 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Jogging backwards is supposed to be good for the low back. But I believe the idea is short distances.

Have done a mini push up or two, myself. The deal is "poor upper body strength" and then sometimes "I am too lazy to do a pushup, but not too lazy to pretend to be working out."

He could also have had an injury at some point and was told to limit his range of motion.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 3:45 PM on March 9

He's in good form for 60. Whatever works for him.
posted by arcticseal at 3:47 PM on March 9

He could run circles around me.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:53 PM on March 9

There's a dude down my way that jogs while juggling three balls, every day.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:55 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Good on him. Sounds like he's having fun and amusing (most) people. As long as he doesn' run into anyone or get hit by a bus, so what? Sounds like he's had a lot of practice. I'd smile if I saw him gyrating and boping along, and it would make the day a little bit better. Some people are just killjoys.

His kids sound like they're proud of their old man, and they apparently inherited his joy de vivre.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:02 PM on March 9

When people do unusual things, antipathy is a given.
posted by gray17 at 4:20 PM on March 9 [3 favorites]

I admire him, but then I do a lot of unusual things.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:22 PM on March 9

Yeah, good for him. Why mess with what works? He seems happy.
posted by josher71 at 4:24 PM on March 9

There's a dude down my way that jogs while juggling three balls, every day.

oh, that's totally a thing.
posted by alex_skazat at 4:28 PM on March 9 [7 favorites]

There are a number of eccentric public exercisers in DC. There's a guy who walks around with those pushup handles and drops at street corners for reps, a guy outside the Columbia Heights Giant that does dumbbell routines, and more than one person who just dances.
posted by oneironaut at 4:30 PM on March 9

A guy doing something that seems a bit silly, makes him happy, and harms no one?

The world needs more people like this.
posted by b1tr0t at 4:31 PM on March 9 [5 favorites]

Thing is, a man that exercises regularly like this fella is bound to be in shape, even if he did something crazy like jogging frontwards.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:05 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]

There's a dude down my way that jogs while juggling three balls, every day.

Years ago I had a neighbor and jogging partner who was into musical theatre, he would sing show tunes as he jogged for fitness and breath control. For the rest of my life every song from West Side Story, Oklahoma, Hair, and Rent will instantly conjure the smell of sweat and stinky running shoes.
posted by peeedro at 6:12 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

I used to see Givens running all the time over near 11th and G or H when I worked near there five years ago. The article was surprisingly moving, for me, with the stuff about his stepfather. Rock on, backwards jogging man, rock on. (Also, his house is so nice, and not what I expected from the guy who sometimes jogs backwards in a propeller hat. Score another one for you, backwards jogging man.)
posted by onlyconnect at 6:46 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

I used to see this guy doing his routine almost everyday, and I think the article is underplaying just how bonkers he seems. People don't think he's crazy because he jogs backwards, they think he's crazy because he waves and yells at everyone and hops around in the middle of the street. He's definitely harmless though.

I am shocked that his house is that nice.
posted by The Lamplighter at 6:47 PM on March 9

Meanwhile, out in the 'burbs, there's Tuba Guy.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 7:03 PM on March 9

Running backwards is a thing.
posted by neroli at 7:10 PM on March 9

He kinda reminds me of Zanta, but he hs a hell of a lot more longevity, apparently.
posted by Drexen at 7:47 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah! I've seen the backwards jogger around Metro Center a couple times. I worry about him in the middle of traffic, though. I wish people would just take the Metro so that the rest of us could dance and run in the streets.

My Franklin Park mystery is that a few times a year I see deliberately placed books and signs set up like shrines with gibberish writing on them. It's pretty subtle and rare so I also always wonder if I'm the only person who sees them. I'm sure now that I'm thinking about it, I'll see another one soon.
posted by Skwirl at 7:53 PM on March 9

This guy is a world-historic level troll.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:21 PM on March 9

There are a number of eccentric public exercisers in DC. There's a guy who walks around with those pushup handles and drops at street corners for reps, a guy outside the Columbia Heights Giant that does dumbbell routines, and more than one person who just dances.

Also, there was a guy that did Tai Chi in Washington Square at lunchtime. I've since moved offices, so not sure if he is still at it.
posted by 3FLryan at 11:07 PM on March 9

Years ago I had a neighbor and jogging partner who was into musical theatre, he would sing show tunes as he jogged for fitness and breath control.

I would murder this person. I feel bad realizing this because I consider myself a pacifist but, in all seriousness, I could not allow this to exist in my world.
posted by cmoj at 11:12 PM on March 9

I know, cmoj, joggers, right?

Now, you be Sky Masterson, and stand over there.
posted by oneironaut at 5:10 AM on March 10

Really, this kind of story is just another indicator of how the quality of the Washington Post keeps declining.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 6:51 AM on March 10

Except this is from the WP Magazine; their weekend supplement that also features humor columns and summaries of blind dates. I'm sure if you care about declining quality of the Washington Post, you could find better examples from the actual paper and not the long-standing Style-lite extras.
posted by now i'm piste at 9:09 AM on March 10

I know he's not exercising, but hearing tell of D.C. characters always reminds me of the Singing Jesus Asian Man, who walks into your train for one stop and sings a little psalm in broken English. When I lived in D.C. and saw him, I knew that was gonna be a cool day.
posted by NedKoppel at 7:12 PM on March 10