Trail Sisters Half Marathon & 10k

September 14th • Buena Vista, CO

Assaulted on the Run

Syd is a graduate student living her yellow house in North Carolina with her boyfriend and dog. Aside from running a ton, in her spare time you can find her drinking lots of coffee, reading anything and everything public health related, and fighting the patriarchy. She’s a fighter for social equity, a believer in alpine lake swimming and long mountain days, and an advocate for all the ladies out there.

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A few months ago, I was put in a dangerous situation that rocked my sense of security to the core. I was outside by myself when a car drove by and a man yelled at me as it whizzed by. As a woman, this is not uncommon or even a standout event in my day to day, and so I ignored it. A few minutes later I heard a car drive up behind me and a door open and close. What followed was an interaction between me and two men which I naively believed could never happen to me.

Now, prior to this I wasn’t a woman living with a false sense of security and I didn’t believe this altercation could never have happened because I was invincible; rather it was the opposite. I took massive precautions. I am a woman runner who spends endless hours by myself outside logging my miles. My time is split between city and neighborhood running and trail running and most all of it is done alone. Because of this, I have been hounded by my family, my partner, my professors, and articles upon articles that warn me of the potential dangers of being a solo woman runner. I’ve had aunts with caring hearts send me pepper spray and well-intentioned men ask if maybe I shouldn’t run in the dark because then I wouldn’t be catcalled (as if my running in the evening was causing the men to yell at me, not because they were disrespectful and cared little about my sense of safety). I ran different routes, always carried my phone, told someone when I was running, never wore headphones, didn’t wear my hair in a ponytail, and wouldn’t respond to hecklers. Where I would draw the line was with my running clothes. I refused to alter my workout clothing when it is 100 degrees out because it, for some bizarre reason, makes people feel that it could stop the harassment (once again placing the blame on the woman and not the man).

 

Mountain time for some clarity.

 

So that was my problem. I believed that all my precautions were enough to prevent any serious attack. I was wrong and was forced to evaluate my perceptions of my environment. What followed in the next few months was unexpected and difficult to process. There were a lot of small things that built up to create a massive amount of anxiety and fear. This, then, created a massive amount of embarrassment. See, I took pride in being a strong, fearless woman who refused to operate within the patriarchy quietly. It sickens me to think that so many of our behaviors as women can be shaped by what people want out of us to make them comfortable. I was not satisfied with that and almost viewed my years-long, long distance running affair as a blatant kickback against the “expected”. I sound like a dreamer and a bit silly but it’s true.

The fact that my incident rocked me so thoroughly was terrifying me. I had no idea how to process what had happened and I felt like there were no resources for me to reach out to. I’m a reader so I always turn to articles and pieces that have been written to help guide me; there was plenty written about harassment and abuse but nothing written about what happens after (especially for women athletes).

That’s why I wanted to write this piece.

To any woman who has ever felt or been threatened: WHATEVER you are feeling is the right thing.

I had so many racing thoughts over those following months where I ridiculed and questioned and shamed myself. I wasn’t supposed to feel so impacted so long after it happened. And yet, I started changing what I would wear when I went out for a run. No longer did I just throw on whatever was in front of me. Now I carefully pieced through what shirt I would wear (typically a large cotton t-shirt that belonged to my boyfriend) and if it would be long enough to cover my butt if I was wearing leggings. I retired half of my shorts because I felt they were too short and would draw attention to myself.

Outside of choosing attire, other more subtle, emotional patterns started to develop. For starters, almost all of my runs for the few weeks that followed were done at the gym on the treadmill. Before this, I had NEVER run on a treadmill; I would have rather had a million rest days in a row than log miles on it. If I didn’t have my dog with me on an outside run (sometimes it’s too hot for her) I could feel my chest start to fill with anxiety. Instead of giving me an hour or so of stress free time (much needed while in grad school!) I was counting down the minutes until I’d be finished.

 

Happy to be out backpacking!

 

The most startling and lasting pattern was a fear I developed while I was in my house. First it was only when I was home alone but it started to creep into the time my boyfriend was home with me. I always felt like someone was in our house and was going to come up behind me. I never said anything to anyone because I felt so paranoid and ridiculous for thinking this.  It wasn’t until recently when I was piecing though some of what happened that I realized this off-kiltering fear was in response to being approached by the men from behind. Also, the incident happened almost right outside of my house which helped explain why my home started to become an unsafe space. It was amazing what this small realization did to help me move forward!

I write all of this from a more centered space than when the incident initially occurred. As I gave myself permission to feel whatever was coming and stopped telling myself I was weak or dramatic for remaining scared, I was able to regain some of my strength and power. I still refuse to let anyone have the ability to strip my power from me, but threatening incidents for us can take a lot of time to process. And that is one hundred percent ok.

 

 

About the Author

Syd is a graduate student living her yellow house in North Carolina with her boyfriend and dog. Aside from running a ton, in her spare time you can find her drinking lots of coffee, reading anything and everything public health related, and fighting the patriarchy. She’s a fighter for social equity, a believer in alpine lake swimming and long mountain days, and an advocate for all the ladies out there.

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Comments

7 Responses

  1. I’ve had 2 attacks in my lifetime. One by a man, and one while running being attacked and bitten by a dog. I also had/have similar feelings. I often don’t feel safe in my home. The first attack happened 13 years ago yet my life and behaviors have been drastically altered because of it. This post spoke right to me. I won’t give up, but it sucks when something that has always brought me peace is now often something I fear.

  2. I will echo Pam: thank you for sharing this. This is one of my biggest fears and I feel like the usual conversations around this topic just incite more fear. I really appreciate your candidness and your refusal to be bowed. Thank you!

  3. I am so sorry this happened to you. I have suffered multiple bouts of harassment, exposure, catcalls…being cornered and heckled, threatened, and finally attacked. On a well traveled path at 10:30am in broad daylight. I managed to get away but I was never the same person again. I ran with a taser after that (following about 2 years of treadmill punishment…) And a Doberman Pinscher- my partner in crime. She is pushing 8 now and her hips and the heat are too much. I’ve got complacent. Thank you for the reminder.

  4. First I admire your strength and will. I have had several problems as a female runner, I have had a man hide his truck in the bushes and wait, I have had a man follow me with his car while I was on my bike in the middle of know where, I seen a home and rode into it. I have been shot at during hunting season, and I was in an protected area, private land. I was shot at 3 times as I was ascending a trail, on that run I keep having a feeling not to run my regular trail. I listened and I believe, that day I was saved because I of some female instinct.
    I have also had a few male stalkers that made me be on alert, as of this moment I had one recently that creeped me out, that knew where I worked and what I drove. He would send me random text about, where I lived, what I drove and just content trying to engage in conversation. I have cut back on my hiking this year because of it, and I hike with a group or a friend. Not ideal but smart, although I still can’t resist some solitude and head out on my own.
    Now I run with a 380 in a running tank I bought from Armed in Heels. It hides my weapon, nobody notices it and I feel safe. I only wear this when I am in remote areas by myself. I usually have a couple of dogs and always caring a knife, that is a quick release. I am trained in self defense and I pay attention to my area, the cars and people, I listen to my instinct, if it don’t feel right, I listen to what my sub-conscience says, when my over active mind is lost.
    I refuse to give up my out door life, i enjoy my wilderness, my peace, I am unsure if I am over prepared or paranoid. To me it is sad as a women I have to worry about such things when I know a man can go run and just be. where us woman have to think about what we wear and go.
    I am starting to hit the trail hard again because I want to do 50 mile race to mark my birthday, I have an illness and this will be a way of saying, I will win.
    So please all my fellow ladies stay strong and safe,
    Many adventures
    Terrylee

  5. Thanks for sharing. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I had an incident last week where a man with a rope tried to lure me in a public park. It was broad daylight and I had my dog with me. I normally take precautions as well. I’ve been replaying the event in my head ever since. It seems too weird to be true, but unfortunately it is…fortunately, I was Ok. I reported him to the police in case he did this to anyone else. Please stay safe out there.

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Sept. 14th 2024

Buena Vista, Colorado

Half-Marathon & 10k

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