Outdoor running safety, how far do you have to go?

holdondreamaway
holdondreamaway Posts: 35
edited 2:39PM in Motivation and Support
I live near a body of water that has many frequently used trails for hiking, biking, running, and horse back riding. The area has beautiful views, local flora, fishing, and happens to be the place where a girl's body was found a couple years ago. This last part is all that other locals seem to remember. It was of course a tragedy, but most of the locals don't know that it's not the place she was attacked. Whenever I talk about where I run, I get a lot of negative reactions, which has started to upset me. Keep in mind that for starters, the attacker has been caught and locked away. Additionally, my partner always knows where I will be, when to expect me home, and my cell phone (which I keep in my pants pocket) has gps, which he can access from his phone. I even recently purchased some pepper spray for myself. The trail I frequent the most is along a road with houses on the other side of it, and there are always people around. I go in the middle of the day and am not a small woman. I feel like I'm taking every precaution short of staying home.

Now, my question, am I really required to stop living my life because something bad was found nearby years ago? Anybody else deal with this kind of thing in their area? I'm pretty sure you could name any body of water or park in this country and something bad will have happened around it, (the difference being in my area people are aware of it) are we supposed to stop using them? Are we so insecure as a society that nobody, especially women, can do anything alone outside of their homes anymore?

I really can't think of anywhere that would be theoretically any more likely to be "safe", since these things could happen anywhere. This leaves my options at feeling depressed about society, running at the gym (which I hate), and ignoring the beautiful place that I live in, or taking any necessary precautions and getting out there for an amazing and fulfilling run.

I'm interested to see how the rest of you deal with this kind of thing.

Replies

  • Pimpmonkey
    Pimpmonkey Posts: 566
    I say enjoy your run. Everywhere and everything is dangerous if you listen to everyone else.
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
    I run everywhere. I carry a phone and my pepper spray. I should not have to feel as if I cannot enjoy nature. I love being outdoors and I know that if should anything happen to me...my friends and family would know within 24 hours because I try to stay in touch and let someone know my plans.

    Just be safe and aware of your surroundings.

    Edited to add: I am tiny....5 feet tall, 95 pounds and I still feel safe going for a trail run. Don't let someone stop you from what you want to do. Just have them keep tabs, lol.
  • Starklover
    Starklover Posts: 57
    I live out in the middle of the boonies and go for walks out on the bike trails. My honey is always trying to get me to do what he cosiders more safe, and carry a gun. I carry my cell phone, and have pepper spray that I take with if I am going later at night. Usually whenever I come upon someone, or someone approaches me, i make a phone call and ignore them. That way that they can see that I am on the phone and will leave me alone- hopefully! I just do NOT want to carry a gun, I feel like if I have to carry a gun to go for a walk, in the middle of nowhere then there is no safe place anywhere! And what kind of world is that!!
  • kzandarski
    kzandarski Posts: 51
    I often run outside before dawn alone. I take the necessary precautions, but people always have something to say.
    I find it irritating but I would rather run. I honestly can't imagine living in fear and feel sorry for those that do.
  • waterwing
    waterwing Posts: 214 Member
    I think if you have your phone with you and someone knows where you are.. you're being smart. You can't be dominated by fear or you won't live. Bad things happen all the time. I live alone but I tend to "check in" to the park where I run on facebook so my friends know where I am.

    My dad used to tell me to hide my hair under a ball cap when I was running and sometimes I do that.

    The most important thing I've learned is to trust my gut. If something feels awry or "off" or just strange.. get out of there. Otherwise.. be happy that you have such a fantastic place to work out! Sounds lovely!
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    It seems like you've taken proper precaution in being safe. Things can happen in your own front yard, you just have to realize that it was an isolated incident and that if you worry about this too much, you would become holed up in your house as a recluse.

    The park that I go run at had a similar incident the same time I moved here. A woman was running at dusk with some friends and her friends pulled away and left her lagging. She was abducted, raped and killed. The man was caught and prosecuted where he got a life sentence. Not a single incident has happened there since and it's still a very populated, eventful park despite this tragic event.

    So keep up your running and enjoy your life, as long as someone knows where you are and you have your phone, happy running :)
  • lilmssunydayz
    lilmssunydayz Posts: 3
    As long as you are taking the necessary precautions which sounds like you are (pepper spray,phone w/gps,going during high traffic daytimes all a step in the right direction). Be aware of your surrondings which unfortunately may mean taking the headphones off so you can not only see, but hear someone approaching. If you have a big dog to take along that always helped me-lol! Definately ENJOY your run :)
  • JMPerlin
    JMPerlin Posts: 287 Member
    Don't stop living your life because of what happened just learn from it. You can be attacked anywhere at anytime what you need to do is:

    Always be aware of your surroundings

    Always have a plan of action,
    know your terrain better than anyone else.
    prepare before hand, know how to defend yourself.
    Have a cell phone handy and make sure it's charged.

    Never run alone especially in romote or poorly lit areas.

    Always let others know where you are and when to expect you.


    The point is to be knowledgable about what to do before hand and make it part of your routine.
  • lilmssunydayz
    lilmssunydayz Posts: 3
    Perfectly said! ALWAYS trust your gut. Even if it means you turn around and reroute your run. better safe than sorry ;)
  • thefreebiemom
    thefreebiemom Posts: 191 Member
    I think if you have your phone with you and someone knows where you are.. you're being smart. You can't be dominated by fear or you won't live. Bad things happen all the time. I live alone but I tend to "check in" to the park where I run on facebook so my friends know where I am.

    My dad used to tell me to hide my hair under a ball cap when I was running and sometimes I do that.

    The most important thing I've learned is to trust my gut. If something feels awry or "off" or just strange.. get out of there. Otherwise.. be happy that you have such a fantastic place to work out! Sounds lovely!

    On the flip side the checking in thing has always made me nervous. I never tell anyone where I am going or what I am going to be doing or if we are going to be away on Facebook or other public forums. Mapmyrun has live tracking so I can turn that on and only my mapmyrun friends (hubby) can see where I am at or he could use the cell phone gps itself. I have a friend from HS that lives in San Diego that always checks in to everywhere on foursquare. I keep telling hubby that if we ever go to San Diego I want to show up where hes at and scare the bejeebees out of him.
  • holdondreamaway
    holdondreamaway Posts: 35
    Thanks everybody for your encouragement. Now I feel like I have backup the next time someone gives me a hard time!
  • Melonhead
    Melonhead Posts: 168
    Live your life - sounds like you're being smart about it. Just always pay attention to your surroundings. If something doesn't "feel" right it probably isn't!

    Being able to ignore our instincts is one more thing that separates us from every other animal. Some might call that paranoia, I call it self-preservation!
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