Running/exercise masks while running outdoors to keep everyone safer
March 31, 2020 12:41 PM Subscribe
Where I live it is okay (for now) to run outside, and I try to do that daily or so to get a little exercise and maintain my mental health. There is a park with a track near me that has remained open, a great place to run. I'm considering wearing a mask while I do it to keep myself and others extra safe from coronavirus spread. Is this a good idea, and if so, what type of mask would be good for it?
I maintain social distancing while I do run on the track, keeping as far apart as I can from fellow track-users and other people. Some other people who aren't so scrupulous make that hard to do, though, e.g. by passing me too closely, or not leaving me much room to pass them whle keeping distant. I'm thinking about a mask mainly because of them.
There are various kinds of masks out there that are designed for use while exercising, and I'm hoping that one of those will work. Of course, those are meant to protect one's lungs while exercising in cold weather, and/or to keep from inhaling dust - not for preventing the spread of viruses.
Some examples:
http://www.amazon.com/ Irisvito-Dustproof- Activated-Filtration- Motorcycle/dp/B0861SVCNP/
http://www.amazon.com/ Kagogo-Windproof- Breathable-Moisture -Motorcycle/dp/B07HVVPMK3/
http://www.amazon.com/ Fashion-Outdoor- Traveling-Climbing- Reusable/dp/B08615ZHYV/
http://www.amazon.com/ EXIO-Winter- Warmer-Gaiter- Balaclava/dp/B07JHFVGGD/
I maintain social distancing while I do run on the track, keeping as far apart as I can from fellow track-users and other people. Some other people who aren't so scrupulous make that hard to do, though, e.g. by passing me too closely, or not leaving me much room to pass them whle keeping distant. I'm thinking about a mask mainly because of them.
There are various kinds of masks out there that are designed for use while exercising, and I'm hoping that one of those will work. Of course, those are meant to protect one's lungs while exercising in cold weather, and/or to keep from inhaling dust - not for preventing the spread of viruses.
Some examples:
http://www.amazon.com/ Irisvito-Dustproof- Activated-Filtration- Motorcycle/dp/B0861SVCNP/
http://www.amazon.com/ Kagogo-Windproof- Breathable-Moisture -Motorcycle/dp/B07HVVPMK3/
http://www.amazon.com/ Fashion-Outdoor- Traveling-Climbing- Reusable/dp/B08615ZHYV/
http://www.amazon.com/ EXIO-Winter- Warmer-Gaiter- Balaclava/dp/B07JHFVGGD/
Check those long delivery times. I don't think you can actually GET a mask right now.
posted by crw at 1:45 PM on March 31, 2020
posted by crw at 1:45 PM on March 31, 2020
There's not a mask you can buy right now that's better than tying a bandanna over your mouth or buying one on Etsy.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:51 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 1:51 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't recommend the mask, and instead recommend finding a new location and/or time to run. Especially while running, everyone is inhaling/exhaling with more force, 6 feet may be insufficient. The people who aren't respectful of your space on the track, and likely not respectful of people's space everywhere and should be considered prime vectors of disease - avoid.
I'm a trail runner, but I've heard there's a lot of hikers/walkers/strollers in my favourite sections of single track (I.E. getting 2 feet away from someone is impractical when passing). I've been running mainly in my subdivision (I've been taking the road, so I'm easily avoiding the sidewalk pedestrians when I don't have to take the sidewalks to avoid kids playing in the road). This is boring as hell, and I miss my trails, but I can make the "sacrifice."
I've made a few exceptions for a broad trail corridor that is 33% forest that's a 4 foot wide gravel path, but ~4 feet wide of grass past the trail, and 66% gravel trail with 20-50 feet of field that one can run through. Granted the off-trail parts right now are squishy and I get wet feet. But I have a clear social conscience.
posted by nobeagle at 1:54 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm a trail runner, but I've heard there's a lot of hikers/walkers/strollers in my favourite sections of single track (I.E. getting 2 feet away from someone is impractical when passing). I've been running mainly in my subdivision (I've been taking the road, so I'm easily avoiding the sidewalk pedestrians when I don't have to take the sidewalks to avoid kids playing in the road). This is boring as hell, and I miss my trails, but I can make the "sacrifice."
I've made a few exceptions for a broad trail corridor that is 33% forest that's a 4 foot wide gravel path, but ~4 feet wide of grass past the trail, and 66% gravel trail with 20-50 feet of field that one can run through. Granted the off-trail parts right now are squishy and I get wet feet. But I have a clear social conscience.
posted by nobeagle at 1:54 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
I've been thinking about masks, the various evidence and arguments, and here are my conclusions:
* For a purpose like this you probably shouldn't be wearing an actual medical or surgical mask right now, simply because there are not enough to go around and the ones we have should be going to those who are actually sick or those who are working directly with them, medical personnel, etc.
* So that leaves something like a homemade mask made of cotton fabric, as in ClarissaWAM's link above or in this discussion.
* A mask like that provides some protection but it is by no means total or absolute. Think of it as, it will slow down transmission a little. Or lets say you decided to stand 9 feet away from everyone rather than 6 feet. Or something like, if everyone wore that type of mask (properly, see below) it might slow transmission down by an additional 2%, 5% or 10% or 25% or something like that. But certainly not by 90% or 100%. So it is a possibly helpful additional aid, not by any means a cure-all.
* If you do wear a mask, do everything you can to avoid risk compensation. That is, don't say to yourself "I wouldn't go to the track right now because there are too many people, but now I have this mask that makes me safer so I'll go." Do exactly what you would have done, and avoid the things you would have avoided, if you had no mask at all. But then wear the mask for the things that seem the most risky, but which you absolutely must do regardless.
That might include things like riding mass transit to work, passing through busier areas that are unavoidable for some reason, going shopping etc.
But keep in mind your best option is just to avoid those activities if at all possible. But if you're to the point where you must go shopping, you must go to work, you must take the bus somewhere, etc etc etc then that's when you do it because you must, but also wear the mask.
* There is a whole procedure and protocol for wearing the masks that you probably have no idea about if you don't wear them routinely. Maybe someone will pop in with more details but some of general tips:
- You put the mask on, then leave it be. Don't touch it, adjust it, fuss with it in any way.
- You wear the mask for relatively short periods and then dispose of it (or put it away somehow so it won't be touched etc, to sanitize later) immediately.
- Don't re-re-re-re-wear masks without sanitizing them after each use. This could indeed be worse than no mask at all.
- Sanitizing would be either boiling the fabric for a certain period or washing it in detergent.
A protocol for wearing a mask while shopping would be something like:
- Bring sanitized mask along in your car, on bike, in backpack (because you're walking or biking to the store, right? Why in the world are you driving to the store just because COVID is on?)
- Just before entering the store, sanitize hands, put on mask, adjust as needed, after that don't adjust or touch the mask.
- When you leave the store you remove the mask.
- Keep in mind that that purpose of the mask is to catch and store contaminated particles. So if wearing the mask is to do any good at all you now have to treat it as though it is contaminated now. So maybe you put on gloves, handle the mask with the gloves, put both gloves & used mask into some kind of sealed container or bag to take them home, then sanitize hands etc etc after doing this.
- Then you take the used mask home & either dispose of it, boil it, or wash it in detergent for re-use.
Anyway, you can see why the CDC doesn't necessarily recommend using masks for the general public unless you are sick or working directly with sick people and you can also see why it is usually just easier to change or move what you are doing if at all possible rather than continuing to do it and adding a mask for additional protection.
Like in your case, just go running using the numerous nearby nearly vacant quiet neighborhood streets rather than running in the park where everyone else also wants to go.* Or go very early in the morning, late at night, etc. when there are fewer people there.
posted by flug at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
* For a purpose like this you probably shouldn't be wearing an actual medical or surgical mask right now, simply because there are not enough to go around and the ones we have should be going to those who are actually sick or those who are working directly with them, medical personnel, etc.
* So that leaves something like a homemade mask made of cotton fabric, as in ClarissaWAM's link above or in this discussion.
* A mask like that provides some protection but it is by no means total or absolute. Think of it as, it will slow down transmission a little. Or lets say you decided to stand 9 feet away from everyone rather than 6 feet. Or something like, if everyone wore that type of mask (properly, see below) it might slow transmission down by an additional 2%, 5% or 10% or 25% or something like that. But certainly not by 90% or 100%. So it is a possibly helpful additional aid, not by any means a cure-all.
* If you do wear a mask, do everything you can to avoid risk compensation. That is, don't say to yourself "I wouldn't go to the track right now because there are too many people, but now I have this mask that makes me safer so I'll go." Do exactly what you would have done, and avoid the things you would have avoided, if you had no mask at all. But then wear the mask for the things that seem the most risky, but which you absolutely must do regardless.
That might include things like riding mass transit to work, passing through busier areas that are unavoidable for some reason, going shopping etc.
But keep in mind your best option is just to avoid those activities if at all possible. But if you're to the point where you must go shopping, you must go to work, you must take the bus somewhere, etc etc etc then that's when you do it because you must, but also wear the mask.
* There is a whole procedure and protocol for wearing the masks that you probably have no idea about if you don't wear them routinely. Maybe someone will pop in with more details but some of general tips:
- You put the mask on, then leave it be. Don't touch it, adjust it, fuss with it in any way.
- You wear the mask for relatively short periods and then dispose of it (or put it away somehow so it won't be touched etc, to sanitize later) immediately.
- Don't re-re-re-re-wear masks without sanitizing them after each use. This could indeed be worse than no mask at all.
- Sanitizing would be either boiling the fabric for a certain period or washing it in detergent.
A protocol for wearing a mask while shopping would be something like:
- Bring sanitized mask along in your car, on bike, in backpack (because you're walking or biking to the store, right? Why in the world are you driving to the store just because COVID is on?)
- Just before entering the store, sanitize hands, put on mask, adjust as needed, after that don't adjust or touch the mask.
- When you leave the store you remove the mask.
- Keep in mind that that purpose of the mask is to catch and store contaminated particles. So if wearing the mask is to do any good at all you now have to treat it as though it is contaminated now. So maybe you put on gloves, handle the mask with the gloves, put both gloves & used mask into some kind of sealed container or bag to take them home, then sanitize hands etc etc after doing this.
- Then you take the used mask home & either dispose of it, boil it, or wash it in detergent for re-use.
Anyway, you can see why the CDC doesn't necessarily recommend using masks for the general public unless you are sick or working directly with sick people and you can also see why it is usually just easier to change or move what you are doing if at all possible rather than continuing to do it and adding a mask for additional protection.
Like in your case, just go running using the numerous nearby nearly vacant quiet neighborhood streets rather than running in the park where everyone else also wants to go.* Or go very early in the morning, late at night, etc. when there are fewer people there.
posted by flug at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
Regarding walking/running/cycling on quiet neighborhood streets. I know that this is not actually possible everywhere in the world but probably 90-95% of the general population can do this. If you're one of the 5-10% who really actually can't, sorry! Right now motor traffic is way, way down so opportunities for cycling, walking, and running and pretty vacant streets are more common that ever.
(Also I've managed to find perfectly fine places to walk/bicycle while staying near downtown Washington DC, Chicago, Vienna, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Jerusalem, LA, Baltimore, Austin, St Louis, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc etc etc. You can find super-crowded places in all those cities but you can also find very uncrowded places, often not that far distant. Like, within easy walking distance, because that's how I'm usually traveling when visiting those places. However, those are not all the cities in the world, some are definitely more crowded and congested more thoroughly, and so for sure, YMMV. Also, having and being able to use a bicycle to travel say 1-3 miles easily, quickly, and without requiring a parking place on the other end of the trip opens up a whole world of possibilities that you just don't have if you are on foot only.)
Around here, my wife & I went on an hour walk around the neighborhood side streets and saw literally two people out walking their dogs at a distance of over 100 yards. We did pass by some houses where people were out in their yard doing something; those we passed at a distance of maybe 25 yards.
Then we swung by the park where a maybe 20 people were walking around the 1/3 mile walking path in groups of 1 and 2. So that meant they were meeting or passing someone else at a distance of about 6 feet every couple of minutes.
That is still OK in the sense of, it is meeting the guidelines, it doesn't need to be shut down hard or anything, and it certainly doesn't represent extreme danger, but personally I would prefer to give people more space especially when it is easily possible on the miles and miles and miles of quiet neighborhood streets that adjoin and surround the park.
But put another 20 or 40 people into that same space and now it is far from ideal. Put those same 20 or 40 extra people on the 20 miles of sidewalks and side streets in the area surrounding the park and they would barely even see each other at all.
Also . . . some people really need to use the park for their daily walk or other exercise. Maybe they are elderly, maybe they have a mild or severe disability of some sort.
If you're a young, healthy non-disabled type person you probably don't really need to go to the park to walk or run.
If possible, go somewhere else & leave the park for those who really don't have other options, is my thought.
posted by flug at 2:10 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
(Also I've managed to find perfectly fine places to walk/bicycle while staying near downtown Washington DC, Chicago, Vienna, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Jerusalem, LA, Baltimore, Austin, St Louis, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc etc etc. You can find super-crowded places in all those cities but you can also find very uncrowded places, often not that far distant. Like, within easy walking distance, because that's how I'm usually traveling when visiting those places. However, those are not all the cities in the world, some are definitely more crowded and congested more thoroughly, and so for sure, YMMV. Also, having and being able to use a bicycle to travel say 1-3 miles easily, quickly, and without requiring a parking place on the other end of the trip opens up a whole world of possibilities that you just don't have if you are on foot only.)
Around here, my wife & I went on an hour walk around the neighborhood side streets and saw literally two people out walking their dogs at a distance of over 100 yards. We did pass by some houses where people were out in their yard doing something; those we passed at a distance of maybe 25 yards.
Then we swung by the park where a maybe 20 people were walking around the 1/3 mile walking path in groups of 1 and 2. So that meant they were meeting or passing someone else at a distance of about 6 feet every couple of minutes.
That is still OK in the sense of, it is meeting the guidelines, it doesn't need to be shut down hard or anything, and it certainly doesn't represent extreme danger, but personally I would prefer to give people more space especially when it is easily possible on the miles and miles and miles of quiet neighborhood streets that adjoin and surround the park.
But put another 20 or 40 people into that same space and now it is far from ideal. Put those same 20 or 40 extra people on the 20 miles of sidewalks and side streets in the area surrounding the park and they would barely even see each other at all.
Also . . . some people really need to use the park for their daily walk or other exercise. Maybe they are elderly, maybe they have a mild or severe disability of some sort.
If you're a young, healthy non-disabled type person you probably don't really need to go to the park to walk or run.
If possible, go somewhere else & leave the park for those who really don't have other options, is my thought.
posted by flug at 2:10 PM on March 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
Even if you could get one, unless you are running where the temperature is near-freezing, a mask of any sort is going to be quite uncomfortable while running. You are exhaling a lot of moisture, which the mask is going to capture and deposit it right back onto your face. It's going to be very warm and wet underneath your mask. If the mask is significantly filtering out any incoming air, that's resistance that your lungs have to deal with while running.
The masks that you have are for people who are motorcycling and bicycling, which have airflow to compensate for the heat and moisture; and for winter sports, where the temperature is lower. It's hard to claim that they were designed for running-like exercise.
If you want that track-like feel of running, maybe you can map one or two nice blocks around you that aren't full of people or cars/traffic lights and run laps around those. I used to do this, it lets me not worry about getting lost or run over.
posted by meowzilla at 2:54 PM on March 31, 2020
The masks that you have are for people who are motorcycling and bicycling, which have airflow to compensate for the heat and moisture; and for winter sports, where the temperature is lower. It's hard to claim that they were designed for running-like exercise.
If you want that track-like feel of running, maybe you can map one or two nice blocks around you that aren't full of people or cars/traffic lights and run laps around those. I used to do this, it lets me not worry about getting lost or run over.
posted by meowzilla at 2:54 PM on March 31, 2020
Also if you continue going to a place where the physical distancing guidelines are broken, even unintentionally, with or without a mask, it increases the chance that your region will close down all tracks in the area. Even if you're not "one of those people" who aren't following the guidelines, you would be contributing to the problem and the net result is the same.
posted by meowzilla at 3:26 PM on March 31, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by meowzilla at 3:26 PM on March 31, 2020 [3 favorites]
Social Distancing is the way you can protect other people in that environment. They will not be better protected by you wearing a mask.
However, it turns out a mask can usefully help protect you from yourself. Touching your hands to your face is a major part of the typical infection process. Masks do a really good job of stopping you from doing it unconsciously. From that perspective it doesn’t matter much what you use as long as it’s comfortable and it reminds you not to scratch your nose after touching the fence post.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:48 PM on March 31, 2020
However, it turns out a mask can usefully help protect you from yourself. Touching your hands to your face is a major part of the typical infection process. Masks do a really good job of stopping you from doing it unconsciously. From that perspective it doesn’t matter much what you use as long as it’s comfortable and it reminds you not to scratch your nose after touching the fence post.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:48 PM on March 31, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Indeed. Some of those have actual breathing holes in them. If it were me (and I exercise without a mask, but then I'm not in a super-crowded park), I'd use a standard mask that non-exercising people use or, if they are unavailable, make your own. Have a look at this article for filtration vs breathability.
Alternatively, try to find the times (early morning? lunch/dinner?) where it is the least crowded. Are all the others running too? Without masks? Some people (and countries, e.g. Belgium) recommend a 5m (16 ft.) distance for exercising due to the heavier breathing & potentially wider spread.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 12:57 PM on March 31, 2020 [1 favorite]