“I woke up to run today – at 4:30 a.m., in the dark, on familiar roads that I know and could probably run blindfolded by now, wearing bright, reflective gear and a headlamp, always bringing my phone ‘just in case’ – but I couldn’t do it. I was finally too scared,” Feller said in an Instagram post.
Exercising outside before dawn isn’t unusual for runners, who have found that a long run while most people are sleeping is often the best way to balance the demands of the job. family and fitness.
But across the country, runners are now saying they feel scared and vulnerable after the death of another runner. They tell stories of constant vigilance and extra precautions, including change their running time and even buy self-defense rings and stun guns.
Stay alert and take precautions
Becky Croft, a running coach in Tulsa, said she was always on her toes when she ran. so slowly passing the car makes her uncomfortable, she mentally notes the tag number, the color, brand and model in case she is summoned or needs to report it. “As a woman, I have to worry about my safety at all times,” she said.
Austin Morthland, 31, of Richmond, said the precautions she takes before running now are second nature, including making sure the sound is low on her headphones so she can stay aware of her surroundings .
“I don’t always take the same path,” she says. “Whenever I go out alone, I make sure to bring pepper spray. All of these things are ingrained behaviors at some point, simply because it’s the safest way to do what you love.
When 27-year-old Dani Iannone goes for a run in Marlton, NJ, she shares her location with friends and family. She also has an emergency alert on her watch and carries pepper spray and a personal pull-cord alarm.
Fletcher’s death reminded Iannone of the many female runners killed in recent years. Mollie Tibbetts was a student at the University of Iowa when she was murdered in 2018 by a farm worker while running. In 2019, runner Wendy Martinez was fatally stabbed in DC, just days after celebrating her engagement.
Some runners said they were looking for self-defense jewelry, including items from Go Guarded, which sells sturdy serrated-edge self-defense rings to wear while training. The company recently announced on its website that orders may be delayed and items sold out “due to a surge in demand” due to news about Fletcher.
“The Go Guarded Instagram account, which focuses on keeping runners safe and empowering women, has been inundated with direct messages, posts and reels from female runners expressing their grief and outrage at another murder of a runner,” wrote Go Guarded founder Jodi. Fisher in an email. “I’m a runner myself, so I understand all the worry and grief. We just want to run in peace.
Claire Pagan in Longwood, Florida, said what happened to Fletcher prompted her to buy the rings and self-defense mace for herself and her friends.
“Ninety percent of the time I run alone,” Pagan said. “I run very early, so I can totally identify with her.”
Much of runners’ fears come from personal experience. A driver insulted Keller and threatened to kill her while she was on a midday errand. Jenn Cronin, Pagan’s running partner, was part of a group that started running with stun guns after some local women were followed by a man on a bicycle.
Several runners said they were upset by social media posts questioning why Fletcher chose to run when it’s dark outside.
As Carmel, Ind., stay-at-home mom Kelly Halstead pointed out, early morning might have been the only time that didn’t interfere with Fletcher’s responsibilities as a mother and schoolteacher.
“When I was training for the Boston Marathon, I started training in November, December, and I was waking up at 4 a.m., and going out and running at 4:30 a.m.,” Halstead said. . “It really tore my heart out thinking, ‘That was me. Eliza, it’s me. That’s a lot of other runners out there.
Following the Eliza Fletcher case I see a lot of “she shouldn’t have been jogging at 4:30” So let me ask you this man, when are we safe from you to hang out? Are there certain times that you tend to put to sleep so women can do things like jog safely? Ask for all of us.
— Jess 🌻 (@crzydoglady4) September 6, 2022
Others scrutinized Fletcher’s outfit – a sports bra and running shorts. But it can get hot in the summer, Cronin said, and men aren’t scolded for training shirtless.
“What happened to Eliza was not her fault,” said Barb Byrum, a former state legislator from Onondaga, Michigan. “And blaming it only serves to prevent us from tackling crime and its socio-economic underpinnings.”
The runners said they hoped the tragedy would raise awareness of how female runners are routinely targeted and harassed during their workouts. Morthland said she has spoken with her husband and other men about being aware of how threatening their presence can feel to women running alone. They discussed how men can avoid startling hyperconscious female runners and how women run in groups to feel safer.
Croft, who is Native American, noted that Native women and women of color often do not receive as much media coverage as white women when they go missing, despite a higher risk of being abducted and killed. She wants people to mourn Fletcher and also show their support for the thousands of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, or MMIWs, attacked every year.
Above all, women just want to keep running.
They say it’s a way to relieve stress and make friends for life. Pagan and Cronin discovered they had gone to the same college and shared many mutual friends after meeting through a local running group. Since then, the two have not separated for more than three weeks.
What invigorates Lindsey Eaton, Halstead’s sister in Indianapolis, is how the runners are united. Signs held up by strangers have often been his source of strength during marathons, for example. Thousands of people gathered in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, last Friday to “Finish Eliza’s Run” in her honor.
Ultimately, Eaton said she didn’t want safety concerns to spoil the runners’ passion. Stock up on defensive gear, join running groups or train indoors, she says, but no one should too afraid to exercise their right to stand.
“We cannot live in constant fear,” Byrum said. “We must stand together and demand that we can go running without having to worry.”
