Female runners and safety

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  • MrsHRogers
    MrsHRogers Posts: 24
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    I have commented on this topic before and just like some people are amazed at anyone who fears their safety so much, I think there are many of us that are amazed in turn that others don't think about their safety the way we do :smile: Maybe it in part has to do with living in urbanized areas? More and more people live in the city, and the city is a beautiful place but it can be dangerous. I live in a very nice area, but that doesn't stop a serial rapist from attacking 3 women in the past month. As for running on trails, I LOVE trail running! And sorry, I can't always wait on someone else to join me. So I take precautions. I tell someone where I am going to, when I leave, when I get back home. I carry a weapon & my cell phone and do not listen to music. I am amazed at the people being snarky about this woman's question. If it does no harm to you, why mock any of us who ARE concerned about our safety? You can run with just your keys, I prefer to run with more. No harm, no foul to either method. :drinker:
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    I live out in the woods and if I run out there I typically don't bring anything specific. Maybe my dog but for the most part I tell my husband where I'm running and how far. He knows about how long it takes me to run so that if I'm not back by then to come look for me. If he's not home I take my ID and a cell phone with me just in case but the neighborhood I live in is really small and relatively safe so I don't worry much. The only thing I'd be concerned about is being eaten by a bear.
  • RhineDHP
    RhineDHP Posts: 1,025 Member
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    Do you HAVE to run in the dark rapey woods?

    I'm sorry, I know you're being relatively serious in you answer, but this made me laugh. I know, I'm bad.

    But OP, I think you've gotten quite a bit of information so pick and choose what you feel is best and safe running! You know, another suggestion I have is to possibly include a safety defense class in your exerceise. You get a workout and knowldege of how to handle would be attackers.
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    I think if you're even REMOTELY considering running with a gun then you need to pick a different locale! And never go without your phone. I've been bit by a couple of dogs and I'm seriously considering getting a small vial of pepper spray to stick in my bra.
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    I've logged HUNDREDs of miles in the last year training for a marathon and triathlons. I've never dropped anything. you should get checked by a doctor for a brain tumor or carpal tunnel syndrome

    Dropping things doesn't mean you have a brain tumor or Carpal Tunnel! ROFLMAO.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    I think if you're even REMOTELY considering running with a gun then you need to pick a different locale!

    While I don't run with a gun because I have yet to find a holster that would be comfortable doing so I will occasionally walk with one. Why? Because when a bear decides he wants to go for a little walk while I'm out walking the dog I want to be able to scare him off with the fire stick. When I'm walking and it starts getting a little dark and I hear the coyotes howling I want to be able to fire off a warning shot to scare them away.

    Also there really shouldn't be anyone driving down my road (it's not a public road) so on the occasion that someone is I like to be able to move my shirt out of the way so they see my pistol and understand that messing with me would be a bad idea. IF the 77 lb German Shepherd with me doesn't deter them first.

    Not all woods are scary and "rapey". For me it's the critters that could eat me that cause a problem. LOL
  • kluvit
    kluvit Posts: 435 Member
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    I prefer running in my house...safe from creepers, critters, & climate!
  • FitinHonau
    FitinHonau Posts: 63 Member
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    I live in the safest town in the world! (Central Switzerland). I have lived in many dangerous countries before where I never felt safe even in my house. Saying that, a dead body of a young girl was found yesterday in the lake not far from where I live :(

    I go running sometimes in the wood alone. I take with me my phone in case I break my leg (as I have to jump over logs and twigs), it is my only security. The few things which scare me are the deer running away when I approach them.

    I wouldn't go out running in a country where I have to hold a gun! Life in America is scary!!! I would invest on a good treadmill!
  • sunglasses_and_ocean_waves
    sunglasses_and_ocean_waves Posts: 2,757 Member
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    I live in the safest town in the world! (Central Switzerland). I have lived in many dangerous countries before where I never felt safe even in my house. Saying that, a dead body of a young girl was found yesterday in the lake not far from where I live :(

    I go running sometimes in the wood alone. I take with me my phone in case I break my leg (as I have to jump over logs and twigs), it is my only security. The few things which scare me are the deer running away when I approach them.

    I wouldn't go out running in a country where I have to hold a gun! Life in America is scary!!! I would invest on a good treadmill!

    Life in America is scary? No one's found any dead girls by the lake in my town.

    People who chose to carry make that choice. It doesn't mean this place is any "scarier" than others. Americans just don't tend to be passive. I don't carry. I don't like guns. But if someone feels they need protection, it's up to them.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    Wow sounds dangerous where you guys run!
    I'm glad I live in the UK, don't need to worry about guns or weapons. Nobody is about at half 5 in the am anyway lol

    So the UK is violent crime free? That's awesome.


    It isn't crime free, but we can't carry guns , pepper spray, knives or stun guns they are all illigal which is a good thing. We just get on with it here.

    There are similar laws in Brazil. Ever seen City of God or Elite Squad? The rules work SO well.
  • lydia_the_tattooed_lady
    lydia_the_tattooed_lady Posts: 324 Member
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    :noway: :noway: :noway: I'm waaaaay more freaked out by the fact that people go running with guns on them than the fact that I go running with no weapons on me at all. I've dropped my keys and my phone by accident on runs before....what if you dropped your gun??? Accidents happen. Those shorts look like you can blow your butt cheek off.....:huh:

    I've logged HUNDREDs of miles in the last year training for a marathon and triathlons. I've never dropped anything. you should get checked by a doctor for a brain tumor or carpal tunnel syndrome


    Nah I'm pretty sure I'm just clumsy. And you're an A-hole. I'm honestly freaked out that people run with guns on them. If I come around a corner and surprise some idiot with a gun, I may possibly get shot. I don't live my life paranoid that everyone's out to get me simply because I'm a woman. I want to be as capable as a man at fending off creepers---without stupid guns.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    Nah I'm pretty sure I'm just clumsy. And you're an A-hole. I'm honestly freaked out that people run with guns on them. If I come around a corner and surprise some idiot with a gun, I may possibly get shot. I don't live my life paranoid that everyone's out to get me simply because I'm a woman. I want to be as capable as a man at fending off creepers---without stupid guns.

    You want to be capable but not be paranoid? Vigilance is like the most important thing...

    You're at more danger of being hit by a car than of getting shot by someone jogging strapped.
  • lydia_the_tattooed_lady
    lydia_the_tattooed_lady Posts: 324 Member
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    And FYI I live in one of the most dangerous cities in America: St. Louis. I don't run on trails, I run in neighborhoods where the neighbors know who I am and I am always clearly visible. I'm always within about 20 feet of somebody's front door if I need to run for help. Honestly, I think the chances are a lot higher that you'll be hit by a car than some mysterious evil creeper will get you.
  • SusanleeBee
    SusanleeBee Posts: 144 Member
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    I figure that I'm fat enough that if I just sit down, there's not a lot they can do besides kill me. ;p

    Really though, I take my dog and a scalpel.
  • mikeatmichael
    mikeatmichael Posts: 92 Member
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    qt
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    And FYI I live in one of the most dangerous cities in America: St. Louis. I don't run on trails, I run in neighborhoods where the neighbors know who I am and I am always clearly visible. I'm always within about 20 feet of somebody's front door if I need to run for help. Honestly, I think the chances are a lot higher that you'll be hit by a car than some mysterious evil creeper will get you.

    Glad to know you've solved the issue so easily. Clearly everyone else is just dumb and shouldn't prepare.
  • mikeatmichael
    mikeatmichael Posts: 92 Member
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    :noway: :noway: :noway: I'm waaaaay more freaked out by the fact that people go running with guns on them than the fact that I go running with no weapons on me at all. I've dropped my keys and my phone by accident on runs before....what if you dropped your gun??? Accidents happen. Those shorts look like you can blow your butt cheek off.....:huh:



    I'm honestly freaked out that people run with guns on them. If I come around a corner and surprise some idiot with a gun, I may possibly get shot. I don't live my life paranoid that everyone's out to get me simply because I'm a woman. I want to be as capable as a man at fending off creepers---without stupid guns.

    You do realize that what you say reflects more on you than on those who choose to carry. If you feel that way you're making a wise choice in not arming yourself. Those of us who lawfully carry firearms understand the huge responsibility that imposes as well as the legal and civil liabilities for misuse. I'm a 6'2" 190 lb. male in good shape with military and martial arts training. I'm a 55 yo professional and have never been in a fight or involved with the police (other than socially) in my adult life. I shoot regularly at a range because I enjoy it. I don't choose to carry a firearm because I'm paranoid or afraid but because I feel responsible for my own safety and that of my family. I realize that sometimes bad things happen to good people at unexpected times through no fault of their own. I understand that I'm not a police officer and have no moral or legal obligation to protect others, including you. The "idiots with a gun" are those who are carrying illegally and they are around no matter what the laws.

    Oh, and guns aren't "stupid", they're inanimate objects.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,081 Member
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    A woman I know who carried a gun was in probably deeper than she planned when the man took her gun away from her and used it to beat her and rape her. She was left nude and beaten in the woods 50 miles away from where she was abducted.


    Guns aren't any good if the bad guy gets them away from you. Those of you carrying in the back of your pants, or a holster - how do keep someone from coming up behind you and grabbing your weapon? Seems it would only be useful if the guy accosts you from the front and you have time to pull out the gun...which, really, that's not going to happen in an abduction.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Or, you know - you could try running somewhere that you felt safe, instead. :huh:

    Feeling safe does not equate to being safe.

    No where is it perfectly safe - **** can happen anywhere. But you can choose places that are relatively safe, instead of places that are most likely NOT.

    She can? How do you know where she lives? Oh right you don't know. Ill tell you this. I drive 15 miles to run on bike trail when I train for marathons because retarded drivers scare me. And when I do long runs I don't like dealing with drivers. Let me explain something to you. Its an old Rail to Trail path and it literally curves through the back woods of Iowa. Ive seen all sorts of animals on this trail from chipmunks to aggressive dogs, coyotes, deer and Livestock (Sheep, Cattle) Oh you think. Deer and sheep no big deal. Have you ever startled a deer and had it attack? You are in their environment. One day I happened on a broken fence with sheep all across the trail. Im a farm kid I begin working my way through the sheep and then I saw the RAM. you ever been chased by a big ram? Those are the easy ones. Do you know where Meth makers make their product. The smart ones avoid using their homes. They find Secluded areas deep on paths that are hard to get to way far away the perfect place is running trails. Minimal exposure only foot and bike traffic. Do you know how far a long run is? Well the really secluded runs had me going 7-9 miles in and then turning around and going back. The walkers don't get out that far usually and the most runners don't either. The only ones out there are the cyclists the marathoners and the meth heads. Don't begin to think you know better than anyone of us. Fine, you are scared of guns don't use one. Your country doesn't allow them. How could you even begin to think you know more about a gun then any of us that carry them? You think they are scary and it scares you that we have them. Good. Stay away from us that way I don't have to waste ammo its hard to find these days.

    to all the "I live in *blank* and I cant imagine how horrible it must be to live in fear to go for a run" crowd. We dont live in fear we are trained gun owners. :) BTW ask the women in your country who have been raped on run morning noon or night ..."if they could go back in time and carry a pistol if they would choose to do that or just let them selves get raped?"

    For someone who is saying do not presume to know better than any of you, perhaps you should do the same. I read these topics frequently. I generally stay out of the argument. I understand that we come from different cultures and have different views on situations.

    I feel the same way as the person you are addressing, however I am not afraid of guns. I am trained to handle and am very comfortable with handling, using and carrying a gun but I still do not want to carry one while I am running or even day to day. People seem to assume that those who don't wish to carry, don't agree with carrying are afraid of guns. It's not always the case.

    A gun is not necessarily the perfect defence. There are still issues. Just like I warn people about pepper spray and other weapons. There is nothing more dangerous than a false sense of security. If you are goin to carry a weapon, know how to use, be prepared to use it and know the limitations.
  • mikeatmichael
    mikeatmichael Posts: 92 Member
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    A gun is not necessarily the perfect defence. There are still issues. Just like I warn people about pepper spray and other weapons. There is nothing more dangerous than a false sense of security. If you are goin to carry a weapon, know how to use, be prepared to use it and know the limitations.

    Exactly

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