On Wednesday a woman running in my town was sexually assaulted by a man who jumped out of the bushes. It happened at 7am, so just as it was getting light out. That same night I went to a dinner with a bunch of ladies in the new-to-town club that I joined two months ago. It came up in conversation as we were talking about running.
Most of the women involved in the conversation agreed that they wouldn’t run anywhere by themselves. I was surprised to hear that. Now that I have started running again I have been running by myself or sometimes with Fuzzy Britches. I have never felt nervous or wary. At least while it has been warm there have been plenty of other people around and I haven’t been worried about someone jumping out of the woods and raping me. My general thought is that you can't worry about every.single.thing. that could happen to you- you simply have to go out and live your life.
Perhaps when the weather starts to cool down and there aren’t very many people around I would feel differently. Perhaps I should not wear headphones to listen to my crappy music and instead have the ability to hear everything around me (I generally keep the music low, but still).
Is their fear a CT thing?
Is their fear a suburban thing?
Is their fear a mother thing (a lot of the women have recently become mothers)?
Should I also be worried? I used to run by myself all the time in Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia. I was never worried for my safety. I never ran with Mace or anything else that could be used on a potential attacker. Frankly these days I am so slow that I probably wouldn’t be able to outrun anyone either.
The police do not think that it was a serial rapist. Why he chose that poor woman to pull aside is unknown. I hope they catch him.
What do you think? Do you make it a habit to never run alone?
10 comments:
I run by myself all the time...and usually really early in the morning in the dark. We live close to St. Louis city and people are always warning me but I try to be safe about it. I know I should probably be MORE careful (carry a phone, etc) but I've never felt unsafe. I don't run with headphones so I'm alert and I always change up my route. Still, it freaks my mom and hubby out!
I try to use common sense about the reasonable risks that I take without going overboard to the point of living in fear. I have no problem going out in my own neighborhood or certain other areas by myself at night. I would probably not go for a run in some neighborhoods where I am less comfortable. But I also agree that you can't just hide in your house forever for fear that someone will jump out of the bushes and attack you.
I know which areas of town I feel safe running in alone and which ones I don't. And most women are attacked by men that they know. Could be this dude was following her for quite some time. He would have known to jump out of the bushes if it was her habit to run the same route everyday.
Don't let it keep you from going!
I always go running. And in my neighborhood I definitely feel fine with that. There are always runners here in Austin but generally if it's getting close to dark, I won't run at the lake alone. In my neighborhood though, I'm good running after dark (but I do live in a gated community). I guess you just never know!
I'd be cautious though and just be more aware of my surroundings if I'm out really late or early. I usually will only have one ear bud in of my head phones.
Bah! I run alone all the time and not just in the woods. I don't do the headphones, though...
i will go by myself, but not in the most common areas. like, i won't go on the running trails, but i'll go through our neighborhood. i know....paranoid, but just hard to do when there's some unpredictable people out there
I try to make smart choices in what I do when it's dark/I'm in an unfamiliar area/I'm alone/I feel freaked out. I'm pretty good about telling people where I'm going and when I'll be home (I've been doing some hiking lately, which means I've been letting people know my planned route, etc). But I also try not to worry about it more than I have to, because I know I'll start to dwell on it and freak myself out! That being said, I won't run in the dark with my headphones on...
i hope they catch the bastard! That's super scary, but you're right. You can't be scared about every little thing!
I run alone but always in a very crowded places where there are no blind spots for people to jump out and get you. Just keep your music low and keep your head on a swivel at all times.
I know it's sad but as women these days...we just have to be extra careful.
i've never *not* run alone...! i'm with you - i can't deal with living my life worried about everything that COULD happen. i'll take reasonable precautions, then.. i'll go out and do what i want to do.
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