"KEEP AWAY FROM ME WITH YOUR VIRUS."

I always run, and I always have. I've never really had any issues, every now and then a crooked look, but people generally ignore runners. I'm an ultradistance trail runner. I run with gear—a Patagonia running vest with silicon chest water bottles, a visor, and a buff. I cover my face with the buff when I get within about 20 feet of anyone, and I try to avoid people by jumping into the street. I have run this exact route with my partner dozens of times. But this time was different. There is a skinny path on Lake Washington Blvd, which bypasses running on the road. I slowed down through the path, it's single-track, and I didn't want to bump into anyone. This middle-aged woman saw me.

She screamed, and she pointed. "KEEP AWAY FROM ME WITH YOUR VIRUS." I was so taken aback. She followed it up with, "I MEAN IT." What I have yet to say is my ethnicity. I'm biracial, Filipino-Danish. My skin, eyes, and hair reflect my Filipino heritage, and my cheekbones, freckles, and jaw show off my Danish half. I'm not Chinese, but that really isn't the point. With a buff over my mouth and nose and my visor covering my forehead, the only thing she could have made out was my eyes and the colour of my skin.