Runner Safety

As a mom of a ten-year old daughter, the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Ridgeway has been heavy on my heart these last few weeks.  If this event is not horrific enough, her murderer tried to nab a jogger several months earlier.  Thankfully, the jogger was able to get away without injury.

Now that the daylight hours are getting so short, many of us will be forced to run in the darkness early in the morning before going to school or work or later in the evening.  Not only has the Jessica Ridgeway case got me thinking about safety, I was at a Girls on the Run retreat recently where a presenter, Beth Risdon, spoke about marathon training, including runner safety.  This issue was close to her heart because her cousin was abducted and murdered while out on a run close to home last January.  You can read more about her cousin Sherry here.

Beth blogs at Shut Up and Run and she recently posted some tips on runner safety.

Attackers generally look for the easiest target: someone distracted, alone, or in a hidden area.  Did you know that running with just one friend decreases your chance of being attacked over 50%.  Run with two friends and your chance of attack drops to almost zero.

I rarely run headphones anymore.  They make me feel too vulnerable.  I like to be aware of the world around me and any threats.  While I don't always run with friends, I always have my dogs with me.  They may look like gentle giants, but I have no doubt they would tear an attacker (be it human or mountain lion) to shreds if they sensed danger.

If someone makes you feel threatened, scream as loud as you can.  They might be scared away by the unwanted attention.  Even if they are not an attacker, it's better to be safe than sorry and feel a little embarassed by your screaming.

Have you ever thought you could out run an attacker?  I know I've considered this strategy.  However, this weekend's Zombie Infested 5k has changed my mind.  During this race, zombies were hidden along a 5k race course.  Runners had flags attached to their bodies that the zombies tried to grab.  Once all of their flags were gone, the runner was "dead."

 

The race passed by my house and we had an especially wily zombie out front.  His long, stringy hair, ripped jeans and high tops made him appear to be more comfortable on the couch listening to Pink Floyd and smoking a joint, rather than out running around.  I didn't think he would be able to take many flags. 

I was wrong.  He mainly chose women as his "victims."  No matter how speedy the woman looked, he was almost always able to get her.  While his intentions were not malicious, it was eye opening to see how easy it could be to get caught by the "bad guy."

I don't mean to preach doom and gloom on my blog.  In fact, it's highly unlikely that you will ever be attacked.  However, I would be devastated if you, me, someone we know, or ANYONE was that one person who gets attacked.

If you think these tips are worthwhile, please pin or share them.  Here's to being safe out there!!!

Feel free to share any other safety tips you might have too.

Ragnar Recap

I'm back and I survived running the Ragnar Relay from Breckenridge to Snowmass/Aspen, Colorado!  This was one of the most unique, fun, and crazy things I've ever done.

In case you've never heard of Ragner, it's a relay made up of teams of 12 runners (or six runners if you are truly insane).  The teams trade-off running around the clock until they reach the finish.  As you can imagine, there's not much (if any!) sleep.

Our race was 188-miles through some of the most beautiful, but STEEP, mountain country.  The leaves were just starting to change and it was gorgeous!  Most of my legs were on trails along streams and rivers - beautiful during the day, but creepy during the night.  I don't know if I was more afraid of running into a bear or being attacked by a scary human.  Luckily, I experienced neither one, just quiet, solo running in the dark.

My team was so much fun!  Usually running is such a solo sport, but the relay adds in a teamwork aspect.  I enjoyed cheering on and supporting our runners as well as the time we spent not running where we got to know each other better and talk about everything under the sun.  It was also fun to chat with other teams along the course.

Our team name was "Soda Fast" (sorta fast, get it?)

This was at the starting line.

We had a six-pack of Diet Coke and a six-pack of Coke.

This is after we finished, thirty hours after we started.  We don't look too bad for running 188 miles with NO sleep!

While we weren't the fastest runners, we weren't the slowest.  Best of all we won the team spirit award for "Farout Fashion."  I would much rather be spirited and fashionable than fast any day!

If you've ever thought about doing one of these relays, go for it!  You will not regret it.  I'm already looking forward to next year.

Ragnar Relay

In just over a week from now I'm going to be doing my first Ragnar Relay race.  My teammates and I will be running almost 200 miles (OMG!!!) from Breckenridge to Aspen, Colorado.  The scenery is going to be gorgeous but very hilly.

If you've never heard of Ragnar, each team consists of 12 people who each run three legs of the race.  Our race starts Friday morning and we'll probably get done sometime Saturday afternoon.  This means that we'll be running around the clock!

I've never done anything like this and wasn't planning on doing it, but my friends had a teammate drop out at the last minute, so they asked me to fill in.   I'm super-excited, but nervous and a tiny bit scared too...especially since I haven't been training for this!

Oh yeah, did I mention that we are going to be running in costume?!?!?!?  I'll be sure to post a full report on the race with pictures of my fabulous team once we're done...and I can move again, maybe after sleeping for 48 hours.

Has anyone out there run one of these?  Is this totally crazy?  Wait, don't answer that.  I think I already know the answer.

I Did It!

Sorry for the little hiatus in blog posting last week.  I have been busy with work and all of the end-of-school stuff with the girls.  I have been feeling very stressed!!!

I ran a half-marathon this morning and now I feel like I can conquer anything (as long as it doesn't require any more running!) that comes my way.

The half-marathon was in Palisade, Colorado and the course was breathtaking!  Even though I only live about half-an-hour from Palisade, I rarely go there.  The main street has a bunch of cute galleries and cafes.   Palisade is also known for its peaches and grapes.   The race followed the Colorado river and then wound through the orchards and vineyards. 

I've run a bunch of half marathons and this was definitely one of the toughest and slowest ones I've run! The course was much hillier than I expected. Becuase I haven't been running as much as usual,  I wasn't expecting to get a personal best record. My only goal was to finish under to hours and I did...just barely...one hour and 59 minutes.

Guest Posting at the Blooming Hydrangea

You can find me hanging out with my friend Ange at the Blooming Hydrangea today.  Stop by and say "hi" if you have a chance.

Do you have anything exciting in store for the weekend?

This crazy beast is getting her first haircut today.  I think we are going to have her shaved.  I will kind of miss her puppy shagginess, but she's already so hot that I know she will enjoy having a nice short coat for the summer.

There is a mountain bike festival going on in my town this weekend.  There are lots of fun events, such as bands and biking demonstrations that I'm sure we will check out.  On Saturday night, we are planning on biking to our favorite pizza joint which has a huge backyard patio.  A friend's band will be playing outside.  We're looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend! 

Oh, except that I have to run 12-13 miles tomorrow in preparation for my half-marathon in two weeks.  At least I'll be going with a good group of friends.  We usually end up talking and laughing most of the way.  So, the run is not too bad.  :)

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