I think this was one of the first lessons and the most important that I have learned from running. It's easy to look down on someone running the same roads you run without knowing anything about them. Running is gaining in popularity and it seems there are more runners out there all the time. It's easy to be smug as I pass another runner on the road. Somehow I think I am better than them because I just left them in my dust. (that doesn't really happen much!) But you can't really tell much about a runner that you pass on your route. They may be running their first mile ever; or they may be cooling down from a 20 miler! It's totally irrelevant to your run if they are pouring with sweat or not! They aren't going where you are going and the chances are good that they are not training for the same reasons you began your own. You really just can't tell. There is no way to tell where they are on their journey. It could be their first season or their fiftieth!...