Safety: very important but not always taken seriously! These tips can apply to walkers as well.
{I am a Personal Savers affiliate but was not compensated for this post.}
I hope if you are running or walking you are taking your safety seriously! I didn’t give it much thought when I first started running. I just ran 2-3 miles in my neighborhood and I always took my phone. But I never really thought I wouldn’t be safe in my own neighborhood. Here are some things I recommend and some ideas from Personal Savers as well.
- If you can, run with a buddy.
- Run or walk against traffic. Never with cars at your back, especially important if you run/walk in the street. Whether it’s daylight or not.
- Wear bright clothes. Running in the dark in black/gray/blue clothes is not going to help a car see you.
- There are tons of blinkers, flash lights, bright clothes out there….find some!
- Dog spray/mace. I actually carry mace (Personal Savers) as much for stray dogs as unwelcome attention from strangers. I’ve only had a few incidents where I was uncomfortable and of course one of those times I had no phone and no pepper spray! (rookie mistake)
- Change your routes. When I started out I always ran the same route, I figured it’d be easy for the hubby to find me if I didn’t come back home. Unfortunately, other people start to notice that routine as well. I’m not a fan of posting your routes on Facebook or Twitter either. That’s asking for trouble.
- Carry ID or get a Road ID. I got all three of us these for Christmas. Ally wore hers to camp, to visit family out of state, pretty much she wears it all the time now. I didn’t even have to prompt her to do that. (I got a smart girl!)
- Don’t wear your jewelry. You don’t want to give someone a reason to rob you.
- If you are on a trail/sidewalk, stay to the right. This will keep you safe from getting run over by a biker! Or a runner trying to pass you.
- Music: I don’t usually wear my headphones except on long runs or races and I only wear one ear bud. It’s best not to wear both ear buds with music up. You need to be able to hear what’s around you. ie dogs, people chasing you, cars.
- Just pay attention to your surroundings. Always assume the driver doesn’t see you and be prepared to get out of the way!
I’ve gotten better about carrying my Personal Savers when I run.They make them to fit strollers, bikes and your wrist as well as clipping to your belt or waist band. Thankfully, I haven’t had to use it yet!
I have a Wrist Saver to give away to one luck reader. Just use the Rafflecopter widget below for your entries. The sweepstakes is open to US Residents only. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. I will accept entries from August 1, 2013 at 7AM CST until August 4, 2013 at 8PM CST. Winner will be contacted on Monday.
If you want to see the full line of Personal Savers products, you can visit their website here. They are offering 40% off combo packages right now.
Do you carry mace or other protection when you exercise?
Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1
