Run Safe: Guarding Against Attacks While Running

By Ashlee Lawson, Co-founder and CEO, RUNGRL

There is hardly a day that goes by that a strange man doesn’t catcall me, yell lewd obscenities, approach me or otherwise invite himself into my personal space. Whether in the grocery store, walking down the street, pumping gas, while out running or at the gym, nothing seems off-limits. It’s as if these men feel entitled to my space—entitled to ME.

At best, street harassment is annoying. “Just let me live,” I often think to myself. At worst, though, it can feel like my life is in immediate danger.

Even more terrifying is that it seems impossible to explain this feeling to those who are causing them.

If only I could just say, “Hey sir, I know you think this behavior is ‘cute’ and ‘harmless’, but I have to deal with these seemingly harmless interactions at least once a day, from strange men that are much larger than I am. Plus, when these men don’t get the desired response out of me, they often get angry. So, yes, you’re making me feel unsafe and uncomfortable. Please leave me alone.”

As a runner who regularly runs solo, this “routine” harassment is compounded every time I lace up for a few miles. I’m always hyper-aware that there’s a chance something bad could happen to me while out on a run.

Over the years, I’ve begun to adjust my mindset and routine in hopes of thwarting anything negative and, unfortunately, that list continues to grow.

How Women Runners Can Help Guard Themselves Against Attacks

Share location with a friend

It’s important to me that someone knows where I am at all times. Whenever I go out for a run, I make it a point to shoot my husband a message to let him know when I head out and when I return. That way, if he hasn’t heard from me in a while, he knows something is up and can send the cavalry.

There are several ways to safely share your location. Via iPhone, through a fitness app, or in a group chat like WhatsApp, you can select “share my location” and choose someone you know will follow up to make sure you made it in safely.

Daylight Only

For me, running in daylight is non-negotiable. You’ll never, ever catch me running outside alone before dawn or after dusk. I don’t care where we are, how many people are out or how safe it seems. The answer for me is “no”. This doesn’t mean I never run at night. I just feel strongly about having someone run with me after dark.

Note: Of course, people can be (and have been) attacked in daylight as well. But this is just my preferred precaution.

Dressing “Appropriately”

If there’s one thing I hate the most about street harassment, it’s how we, the victims, are the ones that have to make adjustments in order to be left alone. For me, running attire is one of those adjustments. On a hot day, hell yeah I want to throw on my finest spandex and a sports bra. But do I? No, because undoubtedly somebody is going to decide to take that as an invitation. Instead, I'll wear a tank or tee that covers the curves.

Now, this doesn’t mean that wearing running clothes (designed for running!), such as a sports bra and leggings or shorts, constitutes a justification for someone harassing or attacking you. Keep in mind, outfits don't cause rape, rapists do. Your choice of clothing is your own and clothing should never be shamed or blamed for an attacker or harasser’s behavior.

Still, while it’s sad that women have to consider their clothing—instead of men considering not attacking women—here we are. Just something to keep in mind.

Avoid Headphones

I don’t particularly care for running with headphones in general, but I especially don’t wear them when I’m running alone. The last thing I want to do is impair one of my most important lines of defense: the ability to hear someone approaching.

Don’t Run on Trails Alone

Ever. That’s it, that’s the message. There have been too many horror stories. I personally advise against it at any time.

Don’t Update Social Media or Share Routes

It used to feel so harmless to share runs and routes on my social channels or to take pictures and post them, sometimes while I’m still mid-run. I’ve since learned, though, is that’s just not the case. These days, I never share my running routes on social media, and if I take photos, I make sure to wait to post them until my run is complete.

The sad and scary truth is, regardless of what we do, we as Black women runners can’t prevent the harassment and assaults from happening to ourselves. At RUNGRL, we hope that this will be the spark of a larger conversation about how men can get involved as allies to help stop attackers and harassing behavior from their peers.

Until then, we will continue to use tips like these and do our best to protect ourselves.

Be safe out there, sis.