‘It’s scary’ - South Shields running group highlights women’s safety fears during dark night outdoor runs
A running group is shining a light on how the dark nights can impact how safe women feel exercising outdoors in South Tyneside.
A South Shields running group has backed a national movement that highlights how the dark nights during the winter months can restrict women’s freedom to exercise outdoors.
Around 25 women at Believe to Run took part in a 5k on Monday evening (October 26) as part of the Let’s Lift the Curfew campaign, which is led by Sport England’s This Girl Can.
Latest research from Sport England found that 55% of women feel unsafe exercising outdoors alone after dark, compared with 33% of men.
The campaign aims to start conversations and help ensure the realities many women face after dark are heard by the communities, organisations and leaders who shape the country’s public spaces.
‘Really important to us’
Paula Jackson, a running coach at Believe to Run, has spoken about how important it is for the running group to ensure that women can still feel safe while exercising outdoors during the dark nights in South Shields.
She said: “It is really important to us at Believe to Run to host things like this.
“It’s obviously shining a light on women’s safety but it is also about people getting out and exercising throughout the winter months.
“We meet up as group and do the runs together, with the whole team being very supportive.
“The beginners group that I lead is predominately women so we always make sure that we are safe together and that nobody gets left behind.
“There is always a head count at the beginning and also at the end.”
‘It’s scary’
Paula has also highlighted that while the group is very supportive of each other, there is a double standard when it comes to men and women being able to exercise outdoors during the winter months.
She added: “For all the support that we give each other, it is a little bit sad that we as women have to do things like run together to ensure that we’re all safe.
“Some of the women who come along are really strong-minded and I’m one of them who like to run on my own.
“But it wasn’t until I was marathon training that I realised how scary it is - I was getting up at 3am to go and run 20 miles along the coast but it is actually petrifying.
“So it’s scary and really annoying as well because no one would think twice about a man getting up and running at 3am.
“I actually got a lot of stick for doing it but why shouldn’t I able to do that?
“Having the group means that we can run in numbers and it is a lot safer but we shouldn’t have to do that.”
Paula’s beginner group is currently training for their first race, which is set to be the Newcastle MoRun 10k on Saturday, November 21, as they look to support men’s mental health.
Believe to Run hosts its beginner running sessions every Monday and Thursday from 6.15pm.
You can find out more about Believe to Run online at: https:/www.instagram.com/believetorunn/ and: https://www.facebook.com/Believetorunn/.