As the clocks go back…….
Do you feel unsafe running in the dark, are you worried that as the clocks go back at the weekend that you are going to have to change when you run just to feel safe, to keep yourself safe?
Should we change when we run?
Are you like me in that since before you can even remember it was drummed into you that I shouldn’t be going out after dark? That the outside world in winter, after 4pm wasn’t for you, it was far too scary. I was brought up to believe that I was responsible for protecting myself, to keep myself safe and one of the many ways to do this was not to walk home alone, run alone, go to the shops alone, do anything alone in the dark, because if I did, I would be putting myself in danger. The only strategy I was taught was to take myself out of society when daylight ended at 4pm in Winter. And I was complicit, of course I was, I read the stories, I was brought up in the 70s, in Yorkshire when every headline shouted for women “To Stay Indoors” to protect themselves.
“Men and women both feel less safe after dark but the extent to which women feel unsafe is significantly greater”
I’ve read several articles this weekend about how to further protect myself as a runner in the dark, that somehow protecting myself is just part of life and that I should accept it. As a female runner, before I even head out for a run this is what I need to think about,
Wear brightly lit clothing,
Make sure I don’t run the same route more than twice,
Tell my husband/daughters where I am going,
Put my Garmin safety tracker on,
Don’t wear my headphones,
Wear just one headphone,
Only run in well-lit areas,
Carry a whistle or rape alarm,
Carry some kind of weapon that won’t interfere with my run,
Don’t wear my hair in a ponytail as it provides someone with an easy way to grab me,
or just make my life “simpler” by exercising inside.
I’m exhausted before I’ve even set foot out of the house, these top tips feel like shackles of dependency and highlight my lack of freedom and independence. These articles just normalize the rigmarole that I must go through just to go for a run in the dark. And when you look at the stats that reinforce how scary the world is you can understand how fear can spread and stop me from doing the thing that I love the most, the thing that makes me feel “free”.
I believe this needs to change, I can’t change the system, but I can try and break down another barrier that stops people from running in Winter, or putting off running into the Spring when the nights are lighter.
We have to run in the dark
And when we do I feel wonderfully free, we have the streets to ourselves and it makes me feel defiant, unruly, and downright disobedient. As the nights draw in and darkness descends our deserted streets, I have this overwhelming sense that I’m breaking the rules that have been ingrained in me since, well forever, that as a woman, I’m not “meant” to be outside in the dark, I should be tucked up safe and sound indoors, keeping myself out of danger. The more people who see us makes it feel normal as parks, tracks, villages, and streets are filled with people enjoying the darkness, enjoying the clear dark skies lit up by a bright moon and the twinkling of the stars.
Don’t let the streets stay dark and empty
We need to continue to run in supportive groups, in packs with people who run together in the darkness so we can continue training through the winter months, and we look out for each other.
Our timetable isn’t perfect, it’s still limiting and you might have to plan weeks in advance to squeeze your 1 hours exercise into the middle of your daughter’s/sons swimming/netball/kickboxing/dancing, when all you really want to do is go for a run at 10pm, when your kids are tucked up in bed and you can really clear your head and fill your soul with dance music.