Safe running; what do you take with you for protection?
NorthCountryDreamer
Posts: 115 Member
My biggest fear while running are primarily dogs but possibly other animals also. Running takes me mostly through the country but I run through cities also. I suppose people are the other safety issue. I use to run with a dog but that can be logistically challenging. I have carried pepper spray/mace but that doesn't feel like much protection. For over a decade now I have run with a mini-police asp. It has a lanyard end cap that I carry around my wrist. It is 7" closed and more than twice that long when open. It is light enough to run with but heavy enough to make a predator think twice. Guns are heavy, impractical and present some unique legal and political issues. My handgun stays at home. Anyway, the asp works for me even though I have never had to use. It gives me a psychological boost so I feel that I can face my fears and go run pretty much anywhere I want to . What do you carry for safety? Have you ever had to use your "protection"?
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I run with Haley, the black, 90 pound, German Shepherd, this is more for companionship and exercise for her than for protection of any kind. I am sure she would intimidate humans, at least until they figured out that she is all bluff. We run predominately country roads and have found the wildlife to be more afraid of us then we of it....although when the coyotes start howling near by I do pick up the pace. Haven't run into a black bear that we know of but mostly it is dark out so we probably wouldn't see one anyway. During the fall, winter, spring months we run with a red wrist light to protect us from the large, metal objects on wheels that, at least in my opinion, pose the biggest danger to the two of us.....0
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I have yet to carry anything. I figure I have no issue responding in kind to a domestic animal and the woods provides me with sticks and rocks for woodland creatures. But I have yet to really encounter either so my current actions may change after sh** gets real.0
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My biggest fear while running are primarily dogs but possibly other animals also. Running takes me mostly through the country but I run through cities also. I suppose people are the other safety issue. I use to run with a dog but that can be logistically challenging. I have carried pepper spray/mace but that doesn't feel like much protection. For over a decade now I have run with a mini-police asp. It has a lanyard end cap that I carry around my wrist. It is 7" closed and more than twice that long when open. It is light enough to run with but heavy enough to make a predator think twice. Guns are heavy, impractical and present some unique legal and political issues. My handgun stays at home. Anyway, the asp works for me even though I have never had to use. It gives me a psychological boost so I feel that I can face my fears and go run pretty much anywhere I want to . What do you carry for safety? Have you ever had to use your "protection"?
Check your laws. In Texas you're breaking the same law by carrying that ASP as you would be if you were to carry a handgun (unless licensed or otherwise legally permitted to do so).
For me, I just take a house key. Anything else is cumbersome and uncomfortable.0 -
I bought a stun gun to run with it, but haven't actualyl run with it yet. I'm paranoid about stunning myself. I run in a fairly safe area with lots of people (around a University) and always during daylight. I'm more worried about being hit by a car.0
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I am a very small person meaning I am sure I am a walking (er, running) target for someone looking for the easiest "victim"... I simply run during the times of day that there will be lots of people out, or on a trail that is popular with runners, cyclists, etc so that I'm always around people. I won't go running on a trail alone, unless it's "busy" (thankfully the trail I run on always has cyclists, other runners, and people walking their dogs even at 6am... even if one of those people is a psycho, there are too many other people around for them to do anything to me, unless they want a ton of witnesses, who may or may not come to my defense, with their giant dogs).
We do get some animals out on the trail, and some runners I know wear "bear bells". But those runners tend to run alone, truly alone.Bears don't bother coming out of the woods when there are lots of humans going up and down the trails.
If it's dark out and I want to run, I just hop on my treadmill (boring, but safe), or do laps around my block (my house is on a street with lots of street lights, and we're only a few blocks from the police station and fire station). I don't want to lull myself into a false sense of safety, but I also refuse to be paranoid either.0 -
I live in a safe area and stick to well lit and well travelled streets. All I see on my early morning runs are other runners and cyclists and police officers cruising. There are alligators but I have never seen one up on the street and there are wild boars but again if they are smart they will stay off the road and stick to the trees and the bayous. I try to be aware but not paranoid. I refuse to live my life based on fear.0
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I run out in the country, too. There are many animals out here. I've had trouble with everything from, coyotes, dogs, cattle and even buzzards!
I carry pepper spray with me. It probably wouldn't do much as I'd probably shoot myself with it instead of the intended target, but it is a nice security blanket and kinda cute (pink).
MFH (My Favorite Husband) also likes for me to take my phone with me. That way, for those "just in case" moments, he can be there quickly to bail me out of a tight spot. So far, that has never happened.0 -
Cell phone in an armband with a lanyard loped into the armband. On the lanyard are two keys and a whistle. Whistle between my thumb and forefinger, keys spread to other finger. Carried iny dominant punching hand. I've also taken some self defense courses. And I don't run with headphones in.0
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I have yet to carry anything. I figure I have no issue responding in kind to a domestic animal and the woods provides me with sticks and rocks for woodland creatures. But I have yet to really encounter either so my current actions may change after sh** gets real.
Usually the only woodland creatures (other than birds) I see when running on the Jordan River Parkway that runs through the entire length of the valley are deer (which I see rather frequently) although I did sight a fox a couple of months ago.0 -
I live in the country & work in the city so I do little of both of late by home I've been doing my park run which is picturesque and stress free in the city...btw I carry nothing but my keys, ipod which I'm sure won't scare anyone away lol, but the city run is just hectic with traffic which Is probably the worst fear the cars, in the country I don't deal with traffic lights, yes there's no sidewalks so have to share the road, fortunately the pets are safely in yards, I do worry of bears but haven't come across any lot of road kill yes which tells me of course pay attention, my biggest encounter was a skunk(god forbid) I saw it at a distance getting dark, I slowed down it went out of the way and nothing doin, I still think the biggest predator is a vehicle because we all know how people drive. The answer to your question I still take nothing sometimes a phone big whooppie0
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When I do trail runs or rides in an area where I know it's isolated and with animals that might mess with me I carry a nice flipout knife and always have my phone on me.
Most dogs will back down if you spray them right in the face with a water bottle, aim for the nose.
Luckily I have never had to use the knife and the only issues I have really had is a heard of cows trying to run with me in a national forest in Arizona. I thought I was going to get trampled.0 -
I think it is a safe bet that most people overlook things they should carry on a run. I don't carry any kind of weapon as quite honestly most people will find an easier target ( at 5'11, 230... I'm a freight train when I run).
I'm more concerned about what happens if something happens (trip/fall/get hit by a car etc).
When I run I carry my Road ID, Cell phone, police whistle (especially on trail runs), ID, cab fare.
I also map out my run and tell people where I will be and when I will be back...They need to know where to find the body if something bad happens. That being said... a few other suggestions
- Throwaway money... carry a hand full of change and some small bills to fling in an assailants face. It might be enough to startle them and in most cases they are only after money.
- Run with a buddy. Even when chased by a bear, I think I can outrun most of my friends
Seriously though... wildlife is usually discouraged by groups and noise.
- Be properly dressed for the event\environment. A friend of mine was once shot at on a trail run as he wasn't wearing brightly lit clothing.
- Be aware of your surroundings... how many people run with head phones? I had a friend of mine run right into the path of traffic. She couldn't hear it and luckily was close enough to push her out of the way. Since then she has only run with one headphone in to be better aware of her environment.0 -
^^There are some great ideas there.
I don't run with music/headphones outside. I also don't run during low-light hours unless I am a smidge longer coming home during the week, but by then I'm usually only 5 or 10 minutes away from home, in a safe neighborhood.
I've never felt the need to have "protection" from anyone/anything on my runs. When I run at the lake/on trails I do wear a whistle around my wrist, and often bring my 11 year old husky x with me.0 -
I stick to running during the daylight hours on busy-ish streets and paths. I'd love to run the mounfain trails around where I live but don't feel it is very wise to go by myself, so stick to the roads. I carry a phone, house key and some music (if I was on the trail I'd skip the musoc option). My biggest worry is bad drivers and dogs.0
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I am a 6ft 2, misarable old git. Mainly running in rural France I don't carry anything. My two concerns are
1) French dogs and I have learnt to get my retaliation in first with them. I shout and scream loudly and charge straight at them. I haven't got close enough to one yet to do any more.
2) French hunters, they shoot at anything that moves. In the hunting season, I listen out as I run for the gun shots and adjust my route to stay out of the woods they are in. They are not very good because out of season I see loads of game, deer, rabbits, hares and partridges while I am running.0 -
My hands!!! Hahaha!
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this third degree black is hopefully worth something...maybe not against a bear though?0 -
I don't bring anything with me, I live in a very safe area with strict dog laws.0
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My hands!!! Hahaha!
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this third degree black is hopefully worth something...maybe not against a bear though?
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My hands!!! Hahaha!
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this third degree black is hopefully worth something...maybe not against a bear though?
PUNCH IT IN THE FACE!!!!0 -
Lmao, WIN! Yea...maybe that pepper spray is a bang up idea...0
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I'm not worry about my safety while I run here in runners paradise (Boston). First of all I run with a partner, my 4 y.o. in the jogging stroller. We would not make the best target for human predators. It would be way too much hassle to take down the lady with the baby carriage. Also there are about 8,000 other runners on my path every day. For animals, sometimes I'm slowed down by families of ducks, geese or even wild turkeys, but they usually let me by. The dogs here are well behaved snobby city dogs that generally don't notice others.
I am pretty sure though, that with the amount of time i spend on the river (twice a day 3 days a week once a day 2 more times) that eventually I'm going to be the person that finds the dead body floating in the water. :-(0 -
I don't bring anything with me, I live in a very safe area with strict dog laws.
We have pretty strict dog laws and that didn't stop me from getting attack. The lady who owned the dog wasn't following the laws.
That doesn't stop me from running with nothing though. If I know I will run through the dog's neighborhood, I have a large stick with a knot on the end of it to carry with me. Last time, I defended myself with my fists and my legs, kicking. And of course screaming at it like the scared girl I was!!! LOL
out on the road itself, I feel pretty safe, I most worry about cars.0 -
I had a pepper spray but it sprayed a stream at the dog who had no idea what it was and couldn't care less. My running partner kicked it while i called the police and the stupid owner looked passively on. Then the spray decided to freeze up when I tested it and it doesn't work. I tried an air horn and blasted it at a truck that was too close as a warning and it leaked on my hands. So I read on here about a whistle and I'm going to try it . I'm not going far from home anymore anyway. Not since the dog issue down the road.0
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Glad I live in the UK, we don't have any big predators to think about (well there are wild boar in the south of England, but I'm in Scotland), I always let someone know where I'm going, have my phone with me (use it to track my runs more than anything) and take the dogs with me (over 100kg between them and their big dogs that are a bit snotty with strangers), never had an issue out on a run, but did have a guy get a bit arsey when out on a walk with the dogs (one of the dogs didn't get off the track when he approached on the mountain bike), minute he started getting a bit aggresive the dogs all moved in front of me and stared him down, he quieted down quickly and went on his way, nothing like 100kg of ridgeback that aren't afraid to take on lions putting someone in their place!!!0
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I am pretty sure though, that with the amount of time i spend on the river (twice a day 3 days a week once a day 2 more times) that eventually I'm going to be the person that finds the dead body floating in the water. :-(
My friend says this is why he does't trust runners, they're always the one's finding bodies, it can't be a coincidence!!!0 -
I would love to be able to run in the country but I'm too scared of dogs running out at me and you don't know what they'll do when they reach you. I have my phone with me and stick to town or the conservation area behind my house. I'd really love to run without being scared.0
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I don't take much with me, really (though I probably should). I take an ID with me on long runs, and my phone if I feel like I might not make it through my 2-3 hour slog... but I mostly stick to trails and familiar streets, so I don't worry about any trouble. I've had some friendly dogs trail me in the past, but they weren't aggressive in any way, just playful and a bit under-foot. I had someone follow me through some trees on a trail-next-to-the-trail once (many years ago), but I just went a different direction the way back and it was fine. I mostly worry about cars, because drivers tend not to look out for pedestrians at ALL in my city
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What do you carry for safety?
Situational awareness, wit and charmHave you ever had to use your "protection"?
Situational awareness, yes. Wit and charm, not really; probably just as well...0 -
I run with my roadID (a bracelet with my name, health card number and two phone numbers on it). Apart from that, I just run in areas that I feel are safe - residential areas or along cycle paths or sidewalks where there are other people out and about being active.0
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I don't bring anything with me, I live in a very safe area with strict dog laws.
We have pretty strict dog laws and that didn't stop me from getting attack. The lady who owned the dog wasn't following the laws.
That doesn't stop me from running with nothing though. If I know I will run through the dog's neighborhood, I have a large stick with a knot on the end of it to carry with me. Last time, I defended myself with my fists and my legs, kicking. And of course screaming at it like the scared girl I was!!! LOL
out on the road itself, I feel pretty safe, I most worry about cars.
so sorry that happened to you. Now I am going to be really paranoid on my run today.0
