I’ve been walking the same route to work for about a year and inevitably see a lot of the same people every day. What they may or may not know is that I am secretly racing them. There is one girl in particular who is usually walking up my road as I leave the house. She’s pretty fast and sometimes she overtakes me and sometimes I stay ahead of her. We’ve never made eye contact or spoken but I feel sure that knows that we’re racing and I’m sure she purposely swishes her ponytail at me as she’s overtaking. She wears very cloppy shoes so I can usually hear her approaching from behind even when I have my headphones on.
I’m 23 weeks pregnant now and getting a bit slower as my hip has been giving me a bit of bother. She wins most days and this is just going to get worse. This morning I set off down the road and straightaway could hear clop clop clop so I upped the pace a bit, determined to at least beat her to the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. It was going pretty well as her clops got a bit faster too but weren’t getting any louder so I thought I was holding her. Upped the pace a bit more to the point where I had a bit of a light sweat on and still no sign of her overtaking. Made it to the lights first (yes!) and risked a glance back over my shoulder and saw that no one was there. Was a bit puzzled by this until I started walking again, heard the clop clop clop and realised that my keys had been knocking against my phone in my bag when I walked and this was what I had been hearing.
While finishing my walk to work at a rather more leisurely pace I started thinking about how I’m probably slightly mad. Do other people secretly race to work? Would it be unreasonable if next time I smiled at my swishy haired opponent and maybe said good morning? Would this be breaking some kind of commuter grand prix rule? To be honest she doesn’t look very friendly but maybe she’s just focused on the race.
MNHQ have commented on this thread
AIBU?
To talk to this girl
Oysterbabe · 06/10/2015 12:09
This is the most British thing I've read in a while.
My DH races random people home from work and comes home in a proper strop if he doesn't win. I think he's weird. 
Trainers!!!!! She's wearing trainers this morning. Didn't even hear her coming. 
Right I'm buying some fucking heelys.
(And yes I did snap a picture of her feet to show you lot)
Your pregnant? Wait until you have your pram OP...you can seriously build up paxe pushing a pram with great suspension.
When I go to baby weighed clinic its a hugh straight road for about two miles. The people I have secretly raced on that road
I ALWAYS win 
I used to race my flatmate. We lived about a mile from the station, she would get the bus, I would use my wheelchair to get there. The buses were frequent but quite erratic so waiting could mean I missed my train, but sometimes the bus would sail past with her on it, looking very smug. It was all very good natured.
She gave up after one occasion when her boyfriend stayed over. It was a miserable day, pissing it down, but I had an early meeting and couldn't risk missing the train. But the bus turned up early, and she went past me with her boyfriend, pointing and laughing at me. A disabled woman struggling to push her wheelchair up a hill in the pouring rain...took her ages to work out why the other bus passengers were giving her really dirty looks
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She has got to be a MNer, Oyster. She's read this thread and decided to give you a run for your money in her trainers
On my commute, years ago, I used to see the same guy at the station every morning. He was always whistling; no particular tune, just a slightly irritating whistle. In my head, I named him Silly Whistler. After months of this, he once had a briefcase with him - the briefcase had his initials on it ...... SW!
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