Abuse while running :(

Sorry, Op. That's just awful this has happened to you. 😞 Please don't let them destroy your motivation.

Count me in as another fat C25k-er whose only motivation to get up at the arse-crack of dawn to do runs is to avoid EVERYONE. And if I do see the occasional person out, they're usually too tired to say anything.

'And I STILL wouldn't shag YOU!' back at them.

https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/07/how-harassment-by-men-puts-women-off-running

If the link works, this is an interesting article from the Guardian Australia

I got cat called and called a fat bitch my 2 different white van men in a row once.
Not even running, pushing a pram.

Wish I'd had a spare couple of bricks in my pocket to throw, sadly I don't carry them with me.

These men are pure scum.

There is no way he would have said it if you're husband has been there because your husband would probably have punched him.

I've had comments made to me in the past but I just tried to ignore them. That is all you can do. It is often bold ugly fat men. So I just pity them.

Reading a thread like this makes me feel that my original thought that they only do it because they hate women because they can't get a girlfriend is probably true.

It has nothing to do with what we look like.

I was out this morning with the dog - a male runner coming towards me slowed as the (happy, bouncy, Teddy bear) dog and he went through the pinch point together (me sufficiently behind and not impeding his way in any way) - the look a malevolent aggression that crossed his face when he realised the dog was mine was chilling.

My husband was about 10m behind us and based on many occasions like this I have no doubt that the runner wouldn't have had that look on his face at all if it had been my husband with our dog and not me, a woman.

I don’t run, but I am fat so I get stuff shouted at me on a regular basis.

I think the answer is to have a list of retorts for each situation and keep on running. It’s depressing how unpleasant some people are but sometimes they need to be called out on it.

//

Once feeling bolshy and pissed off at a car full of white van men shouting sexual insults at me I stopped turned round and told them to fuck off

All this did was make them drive up closely behind me while reving their engine and calling me a worse names.

And no I didn't report it as it was a plain old van with no markings and I didn't get a reg

That's disgusting of them. I can only think those people had very small egos indeed.

I'm sorry this is happening to you, OP.

I've been really lucky. In over 20 years of running and cycling regularly I've had loads of good-natured heckling but very little unpleasantness. For a while I thought women who claimed to be targeted for abuse from men when out running were exaggerating, for I ran all over the grotty parts of the city in which I lived and never felt threatened. Then I went out for some runs with my teenage daughter, and with our young and very pretty au pair, and was horrified at the comments and the actual kerb-crawling. My son also got far more abuse than I ever did.

To all the joggers from the Jim Fixx era at whom my schoolfriends and I used to shout, "Sexy legs!", I apologise. We thought we were hilarious and would have horrified to know that we might be upsetting you.

Hi OP, fellow runner here and I can absolutely sympathise. I've experienced this mani times over the years.

Someone's husband/brother/son/fiancée all thinking this is ok.

It's really not and like you I feel sad that our daughters probably have a lifetime of similar to put up with.

• I best caveat my post with NAMALT blah blah blah before someone comes along to remind us of this. My answer? Absolutely but Way Too Many Men Are Like This Too Often. Of the others, not enough of them do anything to stop it

My two very good friends (very attractive, but both around a stone overweight) literally got heckled the entirety of their run. They went to a large quiet field to run laps as they felt self conscious, but encountered 3, 20 something year olds shouting at them the entire way that they were 'dogs, fat and ugly' and 'why bother, nobody will want to shag you anyway'. My one friend was mortified and wanted to stop but the other told her to just ignore them. Both have not attempted to run again.

I have no idea why people do this?! I sometimes wonder if it's because other people are jealous that somebody else is trying to better themselves or they look after themselves well?

You edit it, then get a man e.g. DH or DP to post it on social media for you under an account they run. They then deal with the comments and take commenters to task. They will probably get some threats when people are recognised even if their faces are pixelated.

The point is men need to take other men to task over this.

My most recent call outs...'nice arse!' x one million
'Go lady'
'can I help you off with that wet top/shirt/t shirt?'
'cheer up love '
'good for you/go you/well done'
And some wanker smacked my bottom.
Aged 61. Normal looking woman.

I sometimes wish I had somewhere busier to go running, as I can often be out for an hour and not see a soul. After reading all this I think I’ve changed my mind!

I occasionally run with a chest body cam on if I’m running at night or very early, while in the city. I’ve used it on occasion at my rural home and caught nothing but a lovely badger and some deer.

It has a steadying aspect so footage, in the event of an assault, would be useful.

Pretty bloody awful that we have to go to these lengths.

Maybe I'm extra lucky but I've been running for nearly 5 months now and never had a comment. I do go out early though when there aren't many cars or people around. I doubt I'd go round the playing fields at 10pm.

I don't wear headphones because music takes away from being outside for me. I want to hear birds, wind in trees etc.

I lived in a more built-up area previously and used to get some intimidation if I was cycling, and I've not experienced that here either - drivers are much more considerate in general.

Some men and boys are cunts, and like nothing better than making a woman feel uneasy and like a victim. A grim truth.

I run 2-3 a week, and have never had a comment or anything (that I've noticed). I do wear headphones though. I live in a city and tend to run on routes in parks where there are lots of other runners.

Jeez, some people are weirdos!

I’ve not been running long (about 2 months) but no one has yelled or been rude to me yet. I’ve never given it a 2nd thought till reading these comments. I run along a route that is popular with runners though and it’s away from the road.

I got abuse two weeks ago literally two minutes after setting off from home from a car full of men (so surprising) and I live up in the mountains in a hamlet with under 80 full-time residents. DH was actually behind me on the electric bike and when they spotted him they accelerated away. I don't know what they said, I don't want to know, I guess I can thank my hearing impairment for that ...

Also about two weeks before that, having set off from home, I'd hiked up to the Col behind our house, at 7 a.m. in the morning. I walked past a group of four men in their mid-20s, I said "Morning" as I went past the first two, who responded. The second two, clearly not having heard, started started shouting "Good morning" over and over again, clearly sarcastistically and with the intention of "punishing" me for not having said hello (even though I did). I am a 40 year old, overweight woman on her own up a mountain, miles from the nearest habitation - I was both furious and scared.

I always wear headphones when running, even if I don't listen to music, just so I can ignore any comments.

I had a man tell me once that at my wwight l should have been running on soft surfaces. Proper took the wind out of my sails and l was soshocked l didn't think of a quick answer. Fat cunt he was as well. If he ever said it again l would tell him too. Worrying thing was he was my friend's dad.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've had nasty things shouted at me by rancid men.

Worst was getting a glass bottle thrown at me that shattered and sent shards of glass up my legs. My crime, I ignored a creepy pair of blokes in a works van who were making comments about my breasts. So they drive back round to throw the bottle at me.