Wednesday, July 16, 2008

safety first

the town of cary was rocked this week by the news of a local woman who went missing on a long run last saturday morning. unfortunately, she did not come home alive (for details, click here). it was a reminder to me to always put safety first when running. i found an extensive safety list on the web and thought i would share it here. BE SAFE OUT THERE LADIES (and gents). YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL.

1 - DON'T WEAR HEADSETS. Use your ears to be aware of your surroundings. Using headphones, you lose the use of an important sense: your hearing.
2 - Always stay alert and aware of what's going on around you. The more aware you are, the less vulnerable you are.
3 - Carry a cell phone or change for a phone call. Know the locations of call boxes and telephones along your regular route.
4 - Trust your intuition about a person or an area. React on your intuition and avoid a person or situation if you're unsure. If something tells you a situation is not "right", it isn't.
5 - Alter or vary your running route pattern; run in familiar areas if possible. In unfamiliar areas, such as while traveling, contact a local RRCA club or running store. Know where open businesses or stores are located.
6 - Run with a partner. Run with a dog.
7 - Write down or leave word of the direction of your run. Tell friends and family of your favorite running routes.
8 - Avoid unpopulated areas, deserted streets, and overgrown trails. Especially avoid unlit areas, especially at night. Run clear of parked cars or bushes.
9 - Carry identification or write your name, phone number, and blood type on the inside sole of your running shoe. Include any medical information. Don't wear jewelry.
10 - Ignore verbal harassment. Use discretion in acknowledging strangers. Look directly at others and be observant, but keep your distance and keep moving.
11 - Run against traffic so you can observe approaching automobiles.
12 - Wear reflective material if you must run before dawn or after dark.
13 - Practice memorizing license tags or identifying characteristics of strangers.
14 - Carry a noisemaker and/or OC (pepper) spray. Get training in self-defense and the use of pepper spray.
15 - CALL POLICE IMMEDIATELY if something happens to you or someone else, or you notice anyone out of the ordinary. It is important to report incidents immediately.

6 comments:

  1. so interesting that you posted this today. on monday, i had to do an 11 mile run by myself, and i couldn't get out until about 8:30 pm. while i was on the river trail, it was light, and there were lots of people. i had planned on running on the river trail all the way to my house, but as i started running down university avenue, before getting back on the river trail, i just decided to stay on university, and take the major streets home. i had to call my husband while running, to have him check it out for me on mapmyrun, to see how far i needed to go to get my mileage in. but i was SO glad i did. i felt so safe, as there were lots of lights and cars, i was very familiar with the area, etc. but i have been so paranoid about this kind of thing lately, and have found myself passing guys when they are by themselves, and then i try to say back to myself what they were wearing, how tall they were, hair color, etc. weird huh? i guess it's good though. especially after hearing that horrible news about that girl. i felt good though reading all those safety tips, as i try to do almost all of those, most of all, just be aware, and trust your instincts!

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  2. I'm the worst at running alone and with my head phones turned way up. The YW had a guest speaker awhile back about self-defense, and general safety tips and that was one of the first things they said was don't wear headphones and/or if you do only wear one them in one ear... I've got to do better on my early morning runs!! Thanks for the post.

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  3. that is so awful and so scary. thanks for the safety reminders. i think we get a little too nonchalant about our safety while running sometimes.

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  4. that is so no cool.. that is what always scares me about running. my mom always goes alone and maren goes alone alot and i hate it! ed tells me to go running and i would but i have to have someone with me cause i am a super paranoid person.. i have been followed by cars before when just walking to and from school..so i HATE walking places by myself, let alone go running alone. if i ever have to i am always on the phone with someone and just ask them to talk to me for a bit in case.. ask mare, i used to call her everyday on my way to work in provo. anyway, be safe running.. my dog isn't big enough yet to protect me while running so i guess i need to find a partner....

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  5. good reminder. just when i get NOT scared to run alone...does anyone want to do 8 miles with me on monday morning (early) since i had to scratch my run this morning so ryan could bike around the ENTIRE bay?

    and yes, kelli used to call me every day when walking to work. but i didn't mind it. :)

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  6. Oh scary! I always tell Christian what time I'll be back and where I'm going, but as this shows, that's just not enough. So so so sad. I try to carry my cell phone with me if I'm running alone. And if I wear headphones, I only wear one earbud so that I can always hear what's around me.

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