quote:<HR>Originally posted by Kegan36604:
I?ve done some personal safety instructing in the past and let me share some tips?


<HR>

Thanks for those, Kegan36604, they're really good tips. I'll be passing them on to my female runner friends. I especially appreciated the hiding under the car tip as although I'm pretty fit, as a 5ft0 woman, there's no way i'm outrunning a 6ft guy over a short distance.

I rarely run alone at night, and even less in the morning but with winter coming up its going to be a necessity. My regular runs near my house are down a street with very wide footpaths and verges, with a lot of running traffic (although little vehicle traffic) and good visibility (few places for potential attackers to hide).

But even so, I'm very wary of running alone in the dark and aviod doing so where possible. I also never do so with music as it could atract the attention of the thief and distract me from my surroundings.



http://This message has been edited by Marthe (edited Sep-11-2007).

Hi jillian357,

I am finding the same thing -- I run at 5:30am too. I try to stay on busier streets until the sun comes up. Fortunately, where I live, there are several streets that are already fairly busy with commuter traffic at that hour.

Great thread. As a small female who runs before 5 am in the NE, I was able to get some great ideas - thanks!

I generally don't feel too creeped out - I run around my condo complex (boring, but I'm never more than about a mile from my house), so I'm almost always running past people's front doors. The first time I came across the newspaper delivery car, though, I did get a bit freaked.

Scarier tho, was the memo we got about the coyote sightings...

Run safe, run strong...

As a police officer, attacks in the early morning are extremely uncommon, because at that hour the type of personality we are speaking of is usually passed out.

Not to discount the risk, it is real, but keep it in its proper place. I have never seen a stranger on stranger attack after about 2:30 a.m. (about bar closing).

Pepper spray is good, and following your instincts (DON'T SECOND GUESS THEM) is terrific.

But all in all, don't let the risks get in the way of living real life.

I used to run alone at 5:30 am until I was harrassed and followed by a couple of guys in their car on a well-lit and well-travelled road. I finally got away from them after switching directions a couple of times and then cutting through someone's backyard and hiding behind a tree
waiting for them to go away. They were probably just having some "fun" but I was freaked out enough to stop running. If I can't guilt-trip my brother into running with me, I head for the gym to run on the treadmill! It's makes me mad that I don't feel safe out on the road, but I would rather be alive and able to run again than take the risk.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by racer122:
As a police officer, attacks in the early morning are extremely uncommon, because at that hour the type of personality we are speaking of is usually passed out. <HR>

I believe you, but maybe it depends on the type of "type of personality" we're talking about. I know in my neighborhood there are plenty of people out and about and looking for trouble at that hour. I live in an urban (<ahem> "up-and-coming") neighborhood and 5 am can actually be pretty scary.

Just my experience: the drunks are asleep at this hour; the potheads are asleep...the crackheads...not so much.