In reply to digby:
> For me the tears are literally shaken out of my eyes. I know someone who maintains that it's the increased wind from the added speed that makes them run, and gets very cross if contradicted. But if the wind is from behind and thus not a factor it still happens. Nothing you can do! Except wear absorbent gloves.
After running again last night (Twice in 2 months - I'm in danger of getting fit!) I'm inclined to agree. There certainly must be several factors at work, and when cycling I think the wind is possibly the biggest factor, but this can't be so when you're running with a slight tailwind and still getting blind with tears. What I did notice was that it was much worse when the down gradient or terrain was steeper, so that I was really having to impact each step to decelerate, rather than able to use a smoother, more rolling motion. I was conscious of the tears bouncing around in my eyes, even to the extent of wondering whether there was any correlation between long-term fell runners and brain problems, such as is sometimes reported with boxers or American footballers. I very much doubt there is but the impact was very noticeable nonetheless and not surprising that it could cause tears to be released into the eyes.