Runners that live in U.S. cities: are you wearing a mask while out running?

I am in downstate New York too. My wife and I are wearing masks when we run at this point. We pull down bandannas if no one is around, but we always put it up when we see other people, even if we can maintain more than 6 feet away. We ended up deciding that the small sacrifice this costs us as runners was outweighed by the social covenant of playing by the rules and trying to normalize this for everyone else. At the end of the day, we are young and not really worried about our own health. But we want to do our part for those who are more vulnerable.

There seems to be some latent sense that we’re getting away with something by running without a mask when everyone is supposed to be suffering for the greater good. Meanwhile everyone running in masks basically admits that they think it’s all for show but they do it anyway.

I live right by Prospect Park but I’ve largely been avoiding it except for the worst weather days and after dark. Still not running with a mask.

Yes I am wearing one, everyone should. We're lucky that we're able to continue running, let's do right by other people.

I’m running Central Park everyday. Mostly when it’s nice and packed. No mask.

It really can’t be transferred that way. Mathematically, in a lab yes. But not outside, using good sense, wide berth when feasible.

I’m in a suburb outside of the Bay Area. I’m still working and have kept my 5:30am running routine. Needless to say, things are normal for me since I have whole bike lines and streets to myself for long stretches. I bike on my trainer on Saturdays and off on Sundays. My wife checks Nextdoor quite a bit and has read backlash against daytime runners/hobby joggers though.

Yes, but I mostly keep it not above nose or mouth. I think it’s probably the right thing to do even if it’s mostly for show (mine is thin and breathable). When I’m stopped at an intersection or it’s particularly densely packed i might put the mask fully up. I live in NYC, too. They had a really good article on the front page from Washington City Paper about running with masks and the medical experts think the drive-by viral transmission is pretty unlikely. I tend to agree with that, but it’s not worth it to piss off others or run afoul of the state executive order in my view.

San Diego County. Running without a mask. I've seen a lot of people running with masks, but I haven't seen a single fast person running with one on. The masked people were the types who ran 10 mpw, probably built up to a bit more to put a 13.1 bumper sticker on their car before this all started.

San Francisco, no mask. Only occasionally see other runners with masks. Cyclists (commuter-style) seem to have them quite often.

Oakland hills, no mask, and I don't think I've seen a single other runner with a mask. The majority of the walkers are still unmasked too. We can get away with this because the narrow winding streets and roads have very little traffic, either of the pedestrian or the vehicle variety. Thus staying 6 to 10 feet away from everyone and passing by quickly is no problem at all.

Not a chance, and unless someone is already an at-risk individual, no runners should. 1) its created a huge shortage for real medical professionals who are genuinely in a risky situation and need to protect themselves from carriers. 2) wearing masks while running is not for the greater good. Its a glorious display Of lack of knowledge how the illness is spread. It is via droplets, not airborne. Droplets fall to the ground (think of spitting), thus the 6-foot rule. You have a greater risk of getting it by touching crosswalk signs when you get to the red light in the middle of a run, more than you do airborne. Thank -you fear mongering media for making a sh**-show out of this.

Los Angeles County. Yes, I do. When I went on a run this morning, my face got so hot beneath the mask, I pulled it down to my chin a few times when there weren’t people around and moved it back in place when I passed people.

San Francisco. No mask. There’s no evidence they reduce transmission in healthy asymptomatic adults. As many reasonable theories exist why they might increase transmission as decrease when used by general population.

Only direct study of covid19 patients and masks was published in annals of internal medicine with 4 patients coughing without and with masks. The masks (surgical and cotton) made no difference in particles expelled. Minuscule sample size but decent method.

But yes, fear factor is high in absence of consistent calming national leadership and complete lack of national plan to deal with this global issue. Translation, people are scared and judgmental. Recommendation, run at off hours and/or uncrowned locals to be peaceful.

MASKS For scaredy cat morons.

I run in Southern California.

No mask when I run.

"Experts, including the CDC, continue to state that the evidence does not show that wearing a mask will protect the wearer"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2020/04/01/should-everyone-wear-a-mask-in-public-maybe-but-its-complicated/#165ceba7a02f

From the Forbes Article:

"Peer-reviewed Evidence

The historical peer-reviewed evidence on universal mask-wearing to reduce community spread remains inconclusive. It is difficult—probably impossible—to conduct an ethical randomized controlled trial that could ever conclusively tell us whether an entire region wearing masks will substantially reduce transmission, especially since such an intervention should never be implemented without other evidence-based measures that we know work, such as testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing for the symptomatic, and social distancing.

Here’s a short summary of what the peer-reviewed evidence does show, all of which must be considered through the lens of other issues discussed further down and the fact that COVID-19 is a new disease caused by a new pathogen:

Homemade masks were not as effective as surgical masks in preventing wearers from expelling droplets, but they did reduce droplets and were better than no protection, according to a 2013 experiment.

The combination of wearing a mask and hand-washing—but not either one by itself—reduced household transmission of influenza by 35-51% in a 2010 study.

Flu-like illnesses occurred 13 times more often in healthcare workers wearing cloth masks compared to surgical masks, and 97% of particles penetrated cloth masks, compared to 44% penetrating surgical masks, according to a 2015 study.

Wearing a mask decreased infection risk by 60-80% when a parent was caring directly for a sick child in the same household, but mask adherence was well below 50%, leading the authors of a 2009 study to conclude that masks were “ineffective in controlling seasonal influenza-like illness” but might work better with better adherence. Further, the authors urged “caution in extrapolating our results to school, workplace, or community contexts, or where multiple, repeated exposures may occur, such as in healthcare settings.”

A 2015 systematic review of 9 randomized controlled trials consistently found that real-life use of medical masks overall did not reduce infections compared to no masks except in the 2009 study above when adherence was high. Five studies found small reductions in risk with a combination of mask-wearing and hand-hygiene, while the others found no benefits.

Five separate studies in the 2015 review above found that N95 respirators significantly reduced infections compared to surgical masks.

Masks blocked live influenza particles in a 2013 simulation experiment with a dummy, but studies showing that masks block droplets or even infectious particles cannot be assumed automatically to prevent infections.

Wearing masks appeared to reduce SARS transmission risk, with approximately one infection prevented for every 6 people wearing a mask, according to a 2008 systematic review.

Face masks were not helpful in reducing transmission of pandemic influenza, according to a 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis.

gdm wrote:

San Francisco, no mask. Only occasionally see other runners with masks. Cyclists (commuter-style) seem to have them quite often.

I run on the SF Embarcadero most days and runners are exempt from wearing masks. The only run-in I’ve had is from a runner in the bike lane running 10 minute miles. He bitched about his six foot spacing as I passed and I told him he couldn’t possibly catch Covid-19 while I passed at full speed.

If this assehole wanted to run along the busiest stretch of San Francisco without a mask then he knew the risk. If he ran at full speed no one would pass him.

Definitely not - masks are like hand sanitizer; they don't do anything. Alcohol does nothing against viruses and bandanas do nothing to stop the spread of germs.

Who knows, might increase your VO2 max. lol.

I don't, but I would if I could find one that was comfortable enough. Anyone have suggestions?

I pretty much run just run at midnight now

I also live in Brooklyn, near Prospect Park. I keep an old t-shirt sleeve around my neck and pull it over my mouth and nose when there are other people around, but mostly run with it down. I have stopped running in Prospect Park because with everyone home and going stir crazy it has been pretty crowded and I am trying to do my part to keep it sustainable. TBH, I don't think the thin layer of cotton in front of my mouth makes any difference, and based on what I've read you have basically zero chance of transmitting or catching the disease outdoors unless you are right next to someone for an extended period of time. But people are understandably anxious, so I wear the covering mainly to make other people feel more comfortable, signal that I'm trying to do my best, and, frankly, so I don't get yelled at by sanctimonious etiquette enforcers. The one silver lining to all this is that I've seen a lot of new parts of Brooklyn.