Here are your options: You can run, cheer, or get the hell out of the way. After running almost every day for the last 20 years in various places all over the United States I’ve seen it all. Well let me rephrase that and say that I’ve seen quite a bit. I’ve learned a lot about myself and others on my running adventures. By in large let me say that most people who see me out running in my hometown know me well and are very supportive. I would say at least 90 percent fall into this category. Even the police have slowed down to give me a friendly hello on occasion. As for the other 10 percent that’s a whole different story.
Generally I’m a positive upbeat person but there are rare exceptions where I can be a human being and get pissed off on occasion. No one will ever confuse me with the Dalai Lama when it comes to being patient and understanding. At the same time when I lose my temper I’m not going to turn into Jack Nicholson from The Shining either. I digress.
To get to the point I’ve dealt with my share of harassment from people when I’ve been out running. I’ve been called Forrest Gump many times. The total probably goes into the hundreds. By the way I think Steven Spielberg owes the running community a public apology for making that movie. Don’t get me wrong it’s a decent film but ever since it was released in 1994 it has given idiots a license to mock runners with incessant Forrest Gump chants. When I started running those chants annoyed me but as I’ve gotten older I’ve actually tuned it out for the most part (thank god).
Forrest Gump chants are only the beginning. I’ve been called every curse word in the English language not to mention others who have tried to get under my skin by calling me a queer or a homosexual as if that’s supposed to insult me. I’m heterosexual but because certain individuals see me out running and eating healthy to them that means I’m a homosexual. Wow how original. I’ve actually seen less remarks like that in recent years due to the fact that most people in my country are FINALLY starting to accept, respect, and support the LGBTQ community. It’s about time. Everyone should have equal rights in society.
To turn the scary meter up even more I’ve had people throw beer bottles, fireworks, rocks, and other flying inanimate objects at me. Luckily none of them have ever hit me but it did make my heart rate go up a few beats. The most startling experiences have been with people who have (literally) tried to run me off the road. Running is a dangerous sport because of the amount of area that runners have to cover on the roads in training. I already do a lot of my running at night so when you throw in some maniacs behind the wheel it makes for an interesting evening. Actually it’s quite scary.
The scariest running experience that I ever had was when I was on vacation up in northern Maine in May 2011. Now in case you didn’t know Maine is one of the most remote states in terms of population in the United States after Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming. Anyway during that visit I was staying in a cottage in the middle of the woods. Almost no one in any direction for miles and no streets lights. I have run in Maine many times but on that trip I was confronted with a driver that possibly wanted to kill me. As I was out with my flashlight running on a desolate road a pick up truck drove past me at close to 60 mph almost running me off the road. Usually it would end there but this guy followed me for miles trying to cut me off at every turn so that I couldn’t run down the road. Think of the horror movie Wolf Creek and you’ll have a decent comparison to the way this lunatic was acting. At one point it almost looked like he was reaching for a rifle (no joke) and was going to fire a shot at me. At that point I decided to go off road into the woods so that I could get back to my cottage. With my sense of direction, adrenaline, and running speed I was able to find my way back. One of the scariest moments of my life.
After sharing a plethora of my own running experiences I’m going to say that I have it .. good. Actually very good because most of my running experiences have been wonderful and inspiring. The runners who have it far worse than me are WOMEN.
From other female runners I know and from reading countless stories of abuse women have to deal with this kind of harassment and far worse on a regular basis. It goes well beyond verbal harassment too. According to a recent Runner’s World survey the results showed that 43 percent of women at least sometimes experience harassment out running, compared to just 4 percent with men. That number increases to 58 percent for women under 30. The survey also found that nearly 30 percent of female runners stated that they’ve been followed by another individual either in a vehicle, bicycle or on foot. Even more disturbing it was found that 18 percent have been sexually propositioned during a run. Out of all the women who reported being harassed in the survey, 94 percent said men were the perpetrators.
On a personal note when my mother was 5 months pregnant with me she was out running and encountered a male who was stalking her in a van on every one of her runs for weeks. The guy wouldn’t stop and eventually my mother called the police. She still went out on her runs for the remainder of her pregnancy but this time she had a police officer shadowing her in the distance. Unfortunately the police never caught or found this guy but at least my mother wasn’t hurt. A story that makes me cringe every time I hear about it and to this day my mother describes that incident as one of her scariest experiences.
While my mother was glad to have a police car nearby I could also tell that there was a part of her that was annoyed too because who wants to go out running with a police car on every run. My mother shouldn’t of had to deal with any kind of harassment or the police surveying her every movement to make sure that nothing terrible happened. Don’t get me wrong in a way she was thankful for the police but at the same time it bothered her that she couldn’t experience her runs freely without someone else’s supervision. Being a runner is all about freedom.
I’ve thought about this many times but if I ever have a daughter and she wants to run I would want her to be able to do so without being harassed. Honestly I think that all boys and girls could benefit from learning martial arts at an early age. Before I got into running I was involved in a variety of different sports from baseball to basketball but the most valuable one that I did as a child was learning Tae Kwon Do. Along with being able to defend myself martial arts improved my work ethic, confidence, and discipline.
Ideally it would be nice to live in a society where no one ever got harassed. Unfortunately that’s not the reality of the world we live in. Generally I consider myself a pacifist but I also believe that people have a right to defend themselves. In this world there are sheep, wolves, and lions. To live in a free and safe society we must stand up to the wolves. If people can live in peace they should do so but there may come a time when they are left with only two options to either lie down or get up and fight. For me I will take the latter every time.
Harassment of any kind should NEVER be tolerated. Men, women, and all individuals must rise up, fight back, and empower one another otherwise nothing will ever change. Stay positive. Stay focused. Stand up for what you believe in. Never surrender.
Alex Reid
Move At Will 