Being a female runner who HATES the treadmill, I run
outdoors as often as I can. This
includes on vacations and work trips, in places that I’m not really familiar
with. It can be a bit scary running
alone in an unfamiliar location. But in
all reality, running my usual route on a regular occasion can be just as scary.
I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories about women getting attacked, raped, and
even murdered when running solo. Most of
the time, it happens in their own neighborhoods, on the same routes they run all
the time. Super scary.
I don’t always walk out the door afraid for my safety when
going for a run – and I think that NOT thinking about it can actually be the
most dangerous part of it all. We get
into a routine where we feel like we know our surroundings and start to feel
safe. But how do we know that someone
isn’t watching our every move, and planning their attack? It’s tough to think that we HAVE to think
about these things, but we do. Not only
do we have to worry about being attacked by other humans, there are also
animals that will not hesitate to bite if they feel threatened (thanks little Chihuahua
for the tetanus shot)…..and of course, there’s always the concern of vehicles
with drivers that aren’t paying attention, or even YOU not paying
attention. It’s so easy to get lost in
your thoughts when running.
There are a
few things that I personally do to try and make my runs a bit safer that may be helpful to you:
1. Use an app that tracks your runs live so that
your friends and family can track you. I
personally subscribe to MapMyFitness, and it tracks my runs live. My friends (mainly my husband), can track
where I am throughout my run and will be able to see if I’ve stopped for any
reason.
2. This goes with part one – Only accept “Friend
requests” on apps like MapMyFitness from people that you know. I had to go through and delete a bunch of
people, because I realized that all of my friends can track me on my runs, and
they can also see my exact running routes.
This is asking for trouble if you do not have your account private and allow
anyone to be your friend.
3. Run with someone else. I personally can’t do this most days. But when I can, I do. Especially when I’m in a new place and am
unfamiliar with the area. I also bought
a dog with the intention to eventually run with him. He still has a year to go until he can run,
but my hope is that someday he will be my running buddy.
4. Carry mace.
I was bit by a Chihuahua that came up from behind me during one of my
runs. Without thinking, I ran into the middle
of a busy road to get away and to avoid being bitten again. If I ever would have imagined getting bit by
a dog during a run, the last thing I thought I would do is run into the middle
of the road. But, apparently, I don’t
think very well when being chased.
Luckily for me, there were no cars at the time. I know carry mace with me each time I run,
and the second I see a dog growling or barking at my, I flip the switch to get
myself ready. I will cry for days if I
ever have to mace an animal, but I won’t hesitate to do it if I have to.
5. Run with some type of identification. I love my Road ID bracelet, which has all the info
emergency services would need – name, emergency contacts, blood type,
medications, etc.
6. Be smart when it comes to running with
music. I personally feel like I have to
run with music. If I don’t, I struggle
with my runs. I have never been one to
run with my music blasting. But even
having something in my ears, it plugged out any background noise, such as cars,
or dogs running up behind me ready to attack…..so when I saw the AfterShokz TrekzTitanium headphones, I was so excited. It
has an open ear design, so there is nothing blocking or covering my ears. They’re powered by bone conduction
technology, so they sit on your cheekbones and emit sound through mini
vibrations to your inner ear. Sounds
strange, right? I thought so too. But once I used them for the first time I was
IN LOVE! They stayed in place, which I
wasn’t sure they’d be able to with as much as I sweat when I run, and I could
hear the music perfectly, yet still hear traffic and barking dogs as well. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever run without
them again. Check them out! You can enter to win your own set by
commenting on this post no later than July 18th. I will enter your name into a random drawing
and a winner will be chosen from there. If aren’t the winner and you choose to
order from here, you will receive a free water bottle with your purchase.
7. And that leads me to my final safety tip – stay hydrated!
I ALWAYS carry a water bottle with me during my summer runs. The last thing I want is for my husband to
see me stop moving via live tracking and have to come and find me passed out from
dehydration and heat exhaustion J
Let's all keep running for our sanity - but do so safely!
