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Walkers, joggers, and runners travel and are constantly faced with where is a safe place to run in whatever locale they find themselves. In addition, what aids exist that might keep them safe or put differently make them less vulnerable to any miscreants who may be on the prowl.
Recently, Lindy Kyzer, director of content at Clearance Jobs, posted this query on LinkedIn asking where people run in the am in the Washington DC area which caused us at Securely Travel to think on this topic.
(Full disclosure: Christopher has been a contributor to Clearance Jobs since 2013)
We reached out to Lindy to discuss the topic of finding a safe place to get in that walk/jog/run. Lindy shared with us, how she has been on trips and because of safety issues, she just didn’t because she didn’t feel safe. She offered up her safety tips, from the perspective of a “sometimes runner and security conscious individual.”
- Run in daylight
- Pick a route you know
- Make sure someone knows your approximate route or ETA back
- Be audio aware to hear what’s around you
Lindy told us, “When I run alone I do know that I’m a potential target (too many women have been kidnapped or assaulted while running), so I stay hyper vigilant when it comes to my surroundings. When I’m running in DC I pay attention to simple things like an abandoned Scooter by a group of bushes - just because there is always the potential that there is a person there. Sometimes I feel paranoid but a little paranoia is usually warranted.”
She is correct, you don’t get to choose whether or not you are a target of a miscreant, the miscreant chooses their targets. You can, however, lower the odds by following Lindy’s advice and incorporate similar tips from Securely Travel’s Barbara Schluetter.
Barbara notes when she or her daughters would hike in the forests or hills they would always make sure that they were using an app which would track their progress and location, as well as provide an estimated ETA. She also advocates for the use of “open ear” headphones, for the same reasons as Lindy noted, so as to have full audio senses available to hear what is happening around her. As she sometimes is hiking in state and national parks where critters of all sizes reside (and with her own dog along) she also carries with her a variety of personal protection devices (which we will share below).
These devices would include, for example, a safety whistle, flashlight/compass, and a survival knife on a paracord bracelet or lanyard, and also add in an Apple AirTag.
Barbara’s recommendations:
ShareMyRun - Live Run Tracking: Available at the Apple iStore.
Description: “ShareMyRun lets you broadcast live updates of your workouts to family and friends on a map in real-time so they can accurately follow your progress from start to finish. It’s perfect for races, training runs, bike rides, triathlons, or any long distance event where spectators want the peace of mind to know how you are doing along the way.”
Shokz OpenRun Pro - Premium Bone Conduction Open-Ear Bluetooth Sport Headphones Available via Amazon
Description: “Open-Ear Comfort - OpenRun Pro features our best fit yet. Avoid the discomfort of in-ear headphones with our bud-free design. These headphones stay put during any workout. Includes Shokz headband.
“Safety & Connection - OpenRun Pro ensures you enjoy your favorite audio with awareness of your environment for improved connection and safety compared to traditional earbuds or over-ear headphones.
Michael Josh 2PCS Outdoor Loudest Emergency Survival Whistles with Carabiner and Lanyard via Amazon.
Description: “Louder Sound, double tubes can provide up to 150 decibels, can be heard for far distance.
“Strong and Durable, stainless steel material ensures the whistle durable
Add, an Apple AirTag to this lanyard for backup in event phone is lost. And a small knife like the MTech fixed blade knife.
Authors:
Christopher Burgess is a writer, speaker and commentator on global security issues. He has appeared on CNN, BBC, I24, China News, Bloomberg, CBS, NBC, and ABC providing commentary and analysis. He is a former Senior Security Advisor to Cisco and served 30+ years within the CIA. He has lived and traveled abroad for more than 55 years. He is the founder of Securely Travel.
Barbara Schluetter is an experienced traveler, having lived and traveled abroad for more than 20 years. She has resided in Germany, Canada, and the United States with her family of six children and a spouse who was a German Luftwaffe officer. She brings to Securely Travel her unique perspective honed over many years of travel both domestic and international
