Tips on Safety While Running

I wish we lived in a world where it was not necessary to even need to write about safety while running. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world. We live in a world where tragic headlines and heartbreakingly sad news far too often remind us that we can never be too cautious and my whole entire heart goes out to the individuals, family and friends of anyone who has ever been affected. 

If you follow Soleful you know we approach life and running with a sunny disposition and an extremely positive outlook, so a post like this is a departure for us and we do not write this to be alarmist rather to be realistic that we sadly live in a world where safety while running must always be at the top of our minds and with every single step we should be looking out for ourselves and for others. We should live in a world where we can go on a run anywhere, anytime, any circumstances. But we don’t. And even if we take every single precaution, there is still a risk. It’s sad and it’s scary and it is absolutely unacceptable. But it is the world we live in and even though you probably already know and do all of these things, I felt compelled to write this, to share these safety suggestions and to share a personal story of my own.

At Soleful, our mission is to inspire a healthy and active lifestyle, to bring joy to others through running and to encourage people to go outside and get moving. We stand by these goals but we do so with a heightened awareness and emphasis around safety while running. 

I want to share a story with you and also some safety tips. 

One year ago, I was on a walk and I was followed by a person in a car. It was the middle of the day, broad daylight on a sidewalk along a busy road surrounded by businesses and houses. I think it is important to set the scene because we should always be alert whatever our setting. On this day, my guard was entirely down. It didn’t even remotely occur to me someone would be brazen enough to follow me in such a public place. Our instincts are incredibly powerful and we should always listen to what they are trying to tell us. Even if we later feel or find that we were being overly cautious, that’s far better than the alternatives. 

In this situation, my instincts kicked in and indicated to me that someone was following me. Even still, I tried to shrug it off at first, telling myself it was likely a coincidence or maybe they were lost or perhaps they were having car trouble. In my mind, I kept trying to rationalize something that clearly was not right. I include this because it’s normal to feel this way but also incredibly important to remember that if something feels wrong it probably is. Trust your instincts, they are there for a reason. 

The car continued to follow me so I started to make a series of turns, always being sure to stay as close to the main road, homes or businesses as possible. They continued to follow me, making every turn I made, turning around multiple times to keep following me. They slowed almost to a stop at several points, leaned out the window, leered at me and took my picture. Eventually I was able to turn onto a busy pedestrian walkway so they lost sight of me and I waited until they drove away. 

There was no logical explanation for their unacceptable behavior, yet in my mind I kept trying to find reason in their actions. I felt helpless even though I kept telling myself “nothing actually happened.” But, when I stop to really think about it, something did happen. I was followed and that is not OK. At first, I found myself wondering what I did wrong, what I could have done differently, how I should have reacted and even now I have to remind myself they were in the wrong, not me. I initially felt guilty thinking about calling the police, but fortunately with the support of family and friends, I did report the incident. The officer was incredibly compassionate and kind and reminded me how important it was for me to report something like this for my safety and, similarly, for the safety of others. 

To this day, I continue to see police patrolling the area where I was followed and I am grateful my report was taken so seriously. I am incredibly fortunate that my story didn’t end a different way and it serves as a constant reminder that safety while running is of paramount importance and we can never be too careful.

As you can see from my own story, sometimes these things are easier said than done and sometimes we do all of these things and something still happens but I hope these tips are a helpful refresher:

• Do not post your maps on whatever running tracker you use and most certainly do not post your starting and ending point especially if it is your home

• If you choose to post your runs, ensure your privacy settings put you in control of who can see what information

• Be cautious about public posts and how much information you share about where you run and when you run

• Trust your instincts always, immediately and without hesitation 

• Stay alert and remain aware of who and what is around you 

• If you wear headphones, be sure you can still hear your surroundings 

• Let family or a friend know you are going on a run, your route and estimated duration 

• Take your phone and enable an alert system or carry a personal safety alarm 

• If you see something suspicious, say something 

• Look out for yourself and others

• Consider running with another person or in a group 

• Use caution when picking the route and think about the lightning, the visibility and the time of day

• Know what is accessible in terms of shelter or safety on your route 

• Think through ahead of time what your safety plan is if necessary 

• If you notice something or if something happens, report it with as much detail as you were safely able to gather 

• Be kind to yourself, it is your right to go for a run, it is your right to feel secure and if you find yourself in a situation that does not feel safe remember that is the fault of the other person, you have done nothing wrong

Safe running.