I am quite new to running, and I wondered what sort of experiences other females have had while running alone.
I live in a rural area with a very low crime rate, but I do not really feel comfortable running alone. I tend to stick to the pavements around the village, rather than cross country where I would like to run. I will not be running alone in the dark, I'm thinking of joining a running club once the dark nights start, although this means a drive of about 25 miles.
Am I overreacting, and being over cautious? Is it safer out there than I think (if you disregard being shot at, the experiences of pilgrim runner. Would love to hear the responses from other female runners.
Of course, my husband just goes out and runs whenever/wherever he wants!
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It is worth joining a running club for the support as well as just having someone to run with, but if you feel that 25 miles is too far have you thought about joining a nearer gym and doing some treadmill training?
Hope that helps a bit!
Other than that I advise better safe than sorry. Stick to well lit, public areas, carry a phone with you, tell someone where you're going and how long you'll be and try to avoid going the same way at the same time each day so you're not too predictable.
I's rather be paranoid than attacked again - it's not pleasant, but having said that nothing would stop me enjoying my running, I just save the countryside/towpaths/riverside for Sunday mornings when I run with friends.
joining a club is an excellent idea. I love going out on club nights, epecially in the summer as we go on cross country routes I would never go on alone.
I think when running on our own we just need to always be aware of out surroundings and always let someone know where we are going and how long we expect to be out. I try not too worry too much over running alone as I think I would then not enjoy doing what I do. Happy running:)
Despite the impression tabloid papers give, real crime figures show that you're perfectly safe in the country. Yes, of cousre there have been some high-profile incidents, but they are practically the _only_ incidents. Woman-in-country stories just make good copy, for some reason, so are blown out of all proportion.
Yours,
Fully paid member of the Daily Mail haters club
I have now moved back to Surrey, which is where I am from. I live in a large village and there are lots of rural routes. There is a disused railway track, which is very popular - I often go walking there with my friends. When I was younger I used to go down there on my own but I wouldn't do that now, just in case. So I have joined a local running club for the off-road stuff, and at the moment when I go on my own I run around the local playing fields - which is a bit tedious, but I do feel safe.
One of my favourite places to run that wasn't too cut off from everywhere is Stoke Park in Guildford, where I did the Race for Life.
A question for people who run alone - where do you put your phone and keys etc? I never really know what to do with them.
1. The victim is likely to be carrying money.
2. The victim is an easy target.
For runners I think it less likely as:
1. They probably only have 10p for the phone.
2. They might fight back.
Therefore whilst there can never be complete safety I think running in the country probably has a proportionately low risk.
The good visibilty thing is a good point - I do take care when I'm out (I run through urban then into rural), though it's not worth getting paranoid
I also think runers are safer as, frankly, I can out-run anyone who isn't also a runner. And if you're a girl, that doesn't automatically mean you can't do the same either.
I sometimes carry a phone but usually only when I'm wearing my rain jacket which has pockets, and if my B/F is late home and doesn't know which route I'm planning.
I have a separate front door key, on a keyring of its own which has no fancy bit on it which I loop over my middle finger; unnoticeable after a mile or so.
I don't know Russel personally but can't you just ask him to leave you alone....
....boom boom
I don't take a phone - dinosaurs don't have mobile phones. I have a set of doorkeys on a plain ring and I keep them, and a couple of quid to buy a drink or a bus fare home, either in my sock or in my bra (in winter, they go inside my mittens). My husband frequently cracks a bad joke along the lines of "Why do female distance runners wear bras when they've got no boobs?"
I always leave details of where I'm going and the maximum length of time I expect to be out.
Cheers, V-rap.
Apparently if you put an individual key between each finger, you can use it as a self-defence weapon if you are attacked, so it actually could be quite useful to carry them in your hand.
some of the earlier comments were spot on, attackers look for an easy target and something to take, and runners aren't an easy target.
i live in an area with vast amounts of woodland and sanddunes, it's only used by runners at certain times, though, such as sunday morning. other times i've run for eight miles without seeing anyone. i'm not over-confident about this as my biggest fear is, like, falling down a rabbit hole or something...
I don't run with my husband very often because we have 2 small children, but I do frequently run on a (boring)treadmill.
I think a running club is certainly the answer for the dark nights.
I don't take a mobile or anything though - maybe I should? I've recently found a couple of running partners though, so when winter sets in and it gets dark I won't be running alone.