In the wake of an early-morning attack on a woman running along Cleveland’s West 104th Street , a group of runners have come together to support the victim as well as offer advice to woman who run.
Kristen Gaba, pushing her 14-month-old son Blake in a stroller, and Adrianne Bailey ran the trail in the Strongville section of the MetroPark on Wednesday evening pointing out some common safety mistakes runners make.
They offer these four basic tips:
- Don’t run alone. Find regular running partners or join a running group.
- Don’t wear earbuds or listen to music. This is a tough one for many runners looking for solitude, but being able to hear as potential danger approaches makes this tip an important one.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Getting in “the zone” can take a runner out of a safety zone. Whether in a park or in an urban environment, anticipating a problem outweighs being in the zone. Also, get out of your routine by altering your route making yourself less predictable.
- Wear your hair safely. Huh? That’s right, your hair. A tip from Gaba as she pulled on her ponytail.
“This can be used against you, your ponytail,” she said. “You hear stories about guys jumping out from the woods when you’re in there running and they can pull your ponytail, pull you down on the ground before you even realize what’s going on. So it’s best to wear your hair up.”
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source: Newsnet5.com
