Do You Feel Safe Running Alone?

The following post, “Personal Responsibility,” first appeared on Hello Ladies in October 2010. It is the most popular post we’ve written in the 2 years since we started this blog. We are reposting it following the disappearance of Sherry Arnold, a female jogger from Montana. Arnold, a mother and teacher, went for an early morning run last Saturday and never returned. One of her running shoes was found on the side of the road and she was reported dead on Friday. Law enforcement officials are not sharing many details while they investigate but news outlets are reporting two men are in custody.

We decided to repost this after reading the reaction to Arnold’s death by some other female runners. Women are asking other women what do you do to feel safe running alone?  And the answers vary from carry a cell phone and id bracelet, bring pepper spray, run with a dog or a partner, leave a note behind with your route and running outfit, to carry a gun.

Wow, it’s amazing what women  feel the need to do to stay safe. In “Personal Responsibility” we wrote about being harassed while running at night and asked, “Why is it … that as a woman jogging alone at night, it is my responsibility to bring my phone and my dog, check over my shoulder regularly, and plan my route based on street lamps, and yet, these young men feel no responsibility for not harassing me or behaving civilly?”

We’re reposting this as reminder that while of course it makes sense to take precaution, be aware of your surroundings and use common sense, the responsibility for harassment and crime lies with the harassers and the criminals. And we cannot tolerate it. Prayers to the family and friends of Sherry Arnold.

“Personal Responsibility”

I went for a run after dinner tonight. It was a beautiful night. The moon was full and I wanted to unwind after a long week of work. I was responsible. I wore a bright, white vest so cars could see me. I took my big dog with me so I wouldn’t be alone. And I carried my cell phone and a bag of dog sh*t in case I ran into trouble on the road. That’s what it takes for me to feel safe running at night.

About one mile into the run, a car full of young men in their teens or early 20s drove by me. One of the passengers leaned out of the car window and screamed at me. He said he wanted to shove something up my ass. I didn’t catch what object he wanted to use. It scared me. But it has happened before and I had my dog, my phone and my goody bag with me, so I was pretty confident I would be okay. Still, I spent the next mile constantly looking over my shoulder (which caused me to twist my knee).

I decided to shorten my route to avoid a dark patch of road. But as I approached my house after just two miles, I felt good and wanted to keep going. I decided I would keep running and loop around the neighborhood. And then, a car full of boys drove by me and one of the passengers leaned out the window and screamed at me. I went straight home.

I walked in the door far less relaxed than I had been when I set out. In fact, I was furious. Why is it, I wondered, that as a woman jogging alone at night, it is my responsibility to bring my phone and my dog, check over my shoulder regularly, and plan my route based on street lamps, and yet, these young men feel no responsibility for not harassing me or behaving civilly?

If something had happened to me during my run – if I had been attacked – and the incident made the paper, do you think most people reading the story would have first thought, “Why do those men behave that way?” Or would their first thought have been, “Why was that woman running alone at night?”

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Tags: hello ladies personal responsibility, jog, mothers who run, running, running at night, Sherry Arnold Montana, women runners