'TIS the season of extra calories. I can feel the pending Christmas weight gain already. In order to limit the damage this year, I have been trying to keep up with exercise, but I am not a very good self-motivator. I find group exercise much easier, but I missed a class on Monday so I was determined to go out on Tuesday evening for a short run, on my own.
There’s a 5k loop that I like, close to my house. I don’t run it as often as I should but when I do, I’m reminded of how, this time three years ago, I found it difficult to walk this distance. On Tuesday night, I was delighted that I had made it out on my own.
Headphones in ears, I was blissfully running along when I was suddenly shaken. A car had slowed down and a male voice shouted at me as I ran. His voice so loud, I could hear it over the podcast I was listening to.
They were on the other side of the road, and drove on, so I shook it off and continued on my way. Shortly after this, however, the same thing happened. This time, a car on the same side of the road as me slowed down and a male voice shouted at me. I heard what he said. It wasn’t pleasant.
This time, they scared me. Whether it was the same person or not, I don’t know. But that’s not the point.
Like most people, I like to think that I have a good sense of humour. (Surely I have made you laugh a few times this year?) Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t understand what is funny about slowing a car down, and shouting obscenities, or shouting at all, at a woman, or anyone who is out for a run or any form of exercise.
I am sure that many will read this and the reaction will be ‘sure they were only having a laugh’. I was on a quiet enough part of a main road, it was 7pm, dark and the voices of these men frightened me. They were also rude.
‘You are foolish to go out on your own’ will be another reaction. Surely no-one should be scared to go out on the streets at 7pm, or any time for that matter. Wishful thinking.
I know that these idiots who shouted at me the other evening don’t represent all men, and since I posted on Twitter about this incident, a number of people – women and men, have got in touch to say that they have been verbally abused when out running – by both men and women.
To be honest, I was shocked at the reaction to my tweet. This has happened to me many times before, on the same stretch of road, but this time, I decided to vent a little and chose social media as a platform.
The discussion that ensued was very interesting and is online for all to read.
In my opinion, there are two things at play here. Idiotic behaviour for the sake of it, to ingratiate oneself among friends perhaps or to quell one’s own insecurity; and then there’s blatant sexism. The second comment made to me on Tuesday night was lewd and was about my body shape.
Yes, I was intimidated in that moment, but what do you do about it?
What really frightens and concerns me is that, sadly, everyday sexism is embedded in our society and it isn’t called out. Some men, not all, think that it is OK to deliberately scare a woman who is out on her own for a run. They think that it’s OK to comment on a woman’s shape, her looks. Some men think that it’s OK to ask a woman who has just won the inaugural Ballon d’Or for women footballers to perform a sexy dance on stage to an audience of millions.
But, sure it’s only a ‘bit of craic’.
This kind of ‘craic’ needs to stop now. We all have the power to stop it. Call it out.
Should I stop going out running on my own? No. It’s taken me years to build up the confidence to forget what I look like when I go running and get out there.
2018 has apparently been the year of the woman. By these standards, however, we have a way to go. While we continue to get there, I’m going to keep running.
