My nervous system is aggravated.
Yesterday, I was running along a lovely trail here in Scotland. Up ahead were three beings — not still boys, but not yet men.
As I passed, one of them whooped and let out loud, unnecessary shouts.
I’m 42 and have been running since I was 12. I’ve lost count of the times the male species has acted inappropriately and even illegally to me during a run.
But this was one time too many.
So I stopped. I turned around and stepped toward the 6'2 being, who, by this point, was almost cowering behind his friend.
“Really? Really? You don’t shout after female runners!”
I looked him square in the eyes. He shrugged and suggested he was just “cheering” me on.
“If I had been a man would you have shouted after me? You’re clearly decent lads, so do the decent thing and don’t shout after female runners.”
With that, I turned on my heels and continued on my run.
It’s not cheering, it’s jeering and leering. And if otherwise decent lads don’t understand this, what hope is there for the rest of them?
Can we please not murder women runners
I’ll be honest: I don’t think it’s ok to shout after any runner, regardless of their gender. But the fact is women don’t need to be told this.
It’s not men who are taught how to keep themselves safe on the run.
It’s women.
While there are always anomalies (believe me, I’ve seen them in my old job as a detective in the police), the pattern is clear: it’s men who are inappropriate, abusive, and dangerous to women.
This pattern carries over into the world of running.
There’s a list here of people murdered while out running. I note several omissions. But one thing is clear: the vast majority of those murdered are women.
In January 2022, Ashling Murphy went out for a run along the canal in Tullamore, Ireland. She never made it home.
Ashling was murdered by a man.
In September 2022, Eliza Fletcher went out for a run in Memphis, America. She never made it home.
Eliza was murdered by a man.
There are hundreds more like Eliza and Ashling. Where does this stop? I can’t answer that, but I know where it starts.
While I can’t find research to back this up, knowing crime patterns as I do, I suspect every man who has ever murdered a runner started off their abuse of runners with not so innocent cheering, and things escalated from there.
Besides, cheering is a form of verbal abuse. All women know this. The icky feeling you get when a man or a group of men cheer you while walking or running feels unsafe.
Two-thirds of women are abused while running
Recent research from the University of Manchester suggests that over two-thirds of women experience some form of abuse while out running. This is in the form of verbal abuse, physical assault, sexual assault and being flashed at.
Two thirds. That’s a staggering amount, and yet it doesn’t surprise me.
While this research didn’t look at how often men experienced abuse while out running, an article in Runners World dating back to 2017 says that 4 percent of men had experienced abuse on a run versus 46 percent of women.
Research and statistics overwhelmingly confirm that while a minority of men experience abuse on the run, being abused while running is a commonplace experience for the majority of women runners.
Victim blaming is rife
Every time an attack on a woman runner by a man makes the news, the onus is placed on women, not men, to prevent such atrocities.
My skin crawls.
This would be a great opportunity to educate men about not being violent and abusive to women, but no, the rhetoric is always the same. Women have to mitigate their actions to stay safe from men.
Women are told not to run alone. Not to wear headphones and not to run in the dark. I’ve even seen women encouraged not to run at all.
Fuck that.
How about we tell men not to be abusive and violent?
I will not be curtailed by fear. I will run when and where I want. Yes, of course, I will be mindful of my safety, but I will not allow the possibility of a man attacking me mid-run to stop me from enjoying one of my greatest passions.
You see, I know that statistically, I am more likely to be hit by a car than murdered on a run. Perhaps my days in the police have helped alleviate any fears I may have had of this.
But I see the impact on the running community. I see some of my fellow women runners avoiding running at times and along specific routes for fear of men being abusive.
I understand women taking action to ensure their personal safety, but I’m sick and tired of women having to shrink themselves for fear of what men might do.
Did I need to call out the not still a boy, not yet a man being, for his cheering?
It wasn’t the worst I’ve experienced, and I can understand why he may think I overreacted. But if I did overreact, even he knows no part of him was just “cheering” me on.
I have several friends who would have been deeply intimidated by his shouts. Some may have never run on that trail again after his behaviour.
So yes, I absolutely needed to call out the not still a boy, not yet a man being.
And the face he saw when I berated him for his words wasn’t just responding to his comment, but to every lorry and car that has honked at me, every man who has shouted “get your tits out” or “nice legs/bum” or wolf-whistled, and every eejit who has thought it funny to throw things at me — a moving target.
Can’t a woman run in peace instead of fearing she will rest in peace after a run?
From now on, everyone daring to do more than breathe at me while I’m running will experience my wrath.
(Oh, except for friendly “hellos,” I always love a friendly exchange.)
It pains me to think that some women don’t enjoy the benefits of running for the very real fear of men being abusive.
So, for the sake of all my running sisters, past, present and future, I will no longer quietly tolerate future abuse.
You have been warned.
Because it’s never innocent cheering, let’s call it what it is: jeering and leering.
Ali Hall is a trail-running, dog-loving ex-police detective from Scotland. She writes about psychology, friendship, social justice, feminism, the child-free experience, and personal growth. Read more here.