Stay Safe: From a Woman Who Runs Alone at Night

My brilliant plan to run at night entered crash and burn phase almost immediately. I headed out after work, 10:30 PM, down a very wide, well lit sidewalk. I had only one headphone in my ear, the other one tucked neatly into my shirt. I run with my head up and my music low. I only feel comfortable running at night because both neighborhoods where I work are well populated and safe. As a woman, I have had to think about safety first my whole life. Walking at night? Not down a dark alley. Headed out with some friends? Not with all boys. The chances of anything happening are pretty slim, but, again, I’m a woman. And staying safe, as a woman who runs alone at night, is a primary concern for me.

On my third night out running, I entered the part of the neighborhood that gets really quiet when cars aren’t driving by. But I’m on this new kick to be unafraid, so I’m cool. No fear.

“Scurry scurry.” I hear something in the bushes next to me. Instinct pushes me out further on the sidewalk. I’m running on the edge of the sidewalk now, almost in the streets. “Scurry scurry.”

“Oh hell no,” I think to myself. “No. Just no.” I turn around and run back toward my office. I will not be killed tonight.

In reality, it was probably a totally benign raccoon in a tree, more afraid of me than I was of it. But I was not messing around with whatever it was. All I had was my headphones and my cell phone, and those are not self defense weapons.

I run four nights a week and that was the last night of the week that I was running. I went home that night and set to work. There is literally no other time that I can get in the kind of great cardio that clears out the cobwebs in my head, so I had to figure out a way to keep running and to stay safe at the same time.

I needed to make sure that no squirrels (or rapists) attacked me on my run.

I headed to Amazon and equipped myself for personal safety.

I had already bought a new pair of running shoes. After all the controversy surrounding New Balance during the election season, I had investigated a bit.

I Digress

A New Balance exec, when asked how he felt about Trump’s position on the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership, said that he “felt things are moving in the right direction.” The country went crazy. New Balance shoes were Instagrammed in the trash can, and the company took a big hit.

I happened to need new shoes, so I went on Amazon and bought a pair of New Balance cross trainers. For those of you who don’t know, I am a liberal. I am less radical now than I have been in the past, but I am, and always will, be liberal. I do not support Donald Trump, and I have never voted for a Republican.

Having said that, I do not believe all Republican ideas or positions are bad. I can find common ground with even the most abhorrent candidate. And Trump had it right, for whatever reason, on the TPP. It happens that Bernie Sanders had it right also, and Hillary Clinton finally came around. The position of New Balance is this: New Balance shoes are made in America; the company employs American workers; the TPP would permit more imported products to be sold at cheaper prices in the US, which would increase competition with New Balance. New Balance would support anyone’s position against increased unfair foreign competition against an American made product.

The New Balance position is not only a fair one, it is one worth supporting. I was, and remain, appalled at the blanket hate against New Balance. In an effort to support an American company that employs American workers and keeps money in the American economy circulating, I bought a pair of New Balance running shoes. I love them. The ones I linked to above provide great support, lots of cushion, and they don’t crowd out the sides of my foot or my toes. I have wide feet, and my toes tend to dig into the toe of my shoe when I run. I don’t have this problem with my New Balance, and I’ve been running in them for close to six months.

So I had already taken care of my physical safety in terms of my feet, legs, and back for a comfortable run.

Now I went on and made two purchases: pepper spray and a hand alarm.

Stay Safe

I bought the pepper spray for a couple of reasons. First, I could ideally disable a potential attacker, be it raccoon or rapist. Second, it was small, it fit in my hand, and it came with a strap that fixes it in my palm, so I can’t drop it. I feel strong and powerful holding onto a tiny pepper spray.

I also bought a hand alarm. It has become common knowledge that an excellent deterrent to attackers is loud noise. I actually feel much more safe with a hand alarm because the one I bought needs only to have a pin pulled to erupt into an ear piercing screeching noise. An attacker may be able to dodge my pepper spray, but I can pull the pin on my alarm and toss it. A potential attacker is, at that point, screwed.

I paid less than twenty bucks for both items, and less than fifty for my shoes. I have good shoes and two personal safety devices.

My gear arrived by Monday, and I set out on my first fully equipped run. It has been two weeks, and I feel confident and strong. I have kept up my four nights a week without fear, but I am still cautious. I am, after all, a woman who runs alone at night.

I still run with my head up; I still keep only one headphone in, and I have one more secret weapon: my sister. Experts say to run with a buddy. Well, I can’t do that. What I can do is make sure someone knows where I am. I check in with her before and after my run. There are also apps you can download that keep track of your location for safety.

Each night as I am headed out for my run, I send a text message with a picture of me.

“Here I go!”

And, inevitably, I get her response: “You’re crazy!”

So I keep running, at night, and I stay safe. Because, after all, I am a woman.

Hear me roar.

P.S. The links in my bio that send you to Amazon are income affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and buy the products I recommend, or anything else, I will make a small commission. I never link anything to my page that I do not wholeheartedly recommend. So if you do buy anything through the links here, thank you so much for supporting my writing and this site!