Why we started our Run Club Project!
On Tuesday 28th May we launched our highly anticipated Run Club Project!
There’s so many reasons to run with others, from motivation, fun, socialising and a sense of community. But unfortunately not all reasons are so positive. Many women do not feel safe going for runs alone and fear sexual harassment or abuse while running alone.
Running platform Strava completed a survey last year with its users and found that particularly in the UK, women don’t feel safe going out for runs. Globally, women are 9% more likely than men to cite a lack of safe places to exercise as a barrier, yet in the UK, this figure rises hugely to 160%, women in the UK are more than twice as likely than men to cite safety as a concern. When looked at on a global scale, the UK is ranked, and would be considered a reasonably safe country. So this stat brings up concerning questions about how women’s safety is viewed and valued in the UK and how issues of sexual harassment are dealt with.
Women’s Running also carried out a national survey in 2022 about women’s experiences and safety running, the results unfortunately validate women's concerns. 3780 women completed the survey and out of them, 47% said that they had been shouted at or heckled whilst running; this is verbal harassment. 11% said they had been followed or intimidated whilst running. 18% sadly stated that they had considered giving up running completely due to safety concerns.
This is one of the reasons why we have started the run club. It is not women who should be adjusting their actions and lives to feel safe, but if the reality is that they already are, by not going out for runs at all, then we need to put more things in place. We need to enable women to continue to exercise and do the activities they enjoy. Our gym provides a safe place to train, so we decided we wanted to provide a run club that will allow women to forge friendships with other runners and always have someone to run alongside.
The survey also highlighted the many ways women are already being forced to make adjustments to feel safer running. Over half stated that they have changed their running location due to safety concerns, 38% said they have adjusted running timings and others cited running without headphones.
Although bleak, this is the reality of women’s experiences running in the UK and these stats need to be taken seriously. We hope that our running club will provide a safe space for anyone to pick up running and especially those who have felt too concerned for their safety to start already. Running should be one of the most accessible sports and free for all to enjoy and feel the benefits of, but safety acts as a huge barrier for women. Our run club hopes to take away that barrier. We know more needs to be done to tackle attitudes towards women's safety and sexual harassment, so it is taken seriously and women can feel safe both with others and running alone.
