To think this was very scary?

[Eggsforb]

Was out walking my dog at around 11.30am on a grassy area away from the road, my dog stopped to sniff and so as i waited i happened to look around me and there was a man kind of half jogging behind me towards me. I looked right at him and he stopped and started walking. There was no one else around. I immedietly dipped out the side onto a side road that links to a main road and started walking very fast. My dog wouldnt budge though and was staring back and sure enough he had also come out after us and stopped walking towards us again when i turned around and almost acted like he was lost or confused but i immedietly crossed over and continued onto the busy main road.

AIBU to think he was running up behind me for shady reasons? 😦

I have lived and walked my dog in this particular spot for three years seeing hundreds of people out and about in this time. He is the first one to spook me like this so I am glad I followed my instinct.

Doing c25k? Mix of running and walking and you threw him a bit giving him the shifty side eye?

How dare anybody turn this around on women and ask why we are so pathetic around men?? Perhaps because they have been assaulting and raping us for all time and we have enough bloody awareness of this to notice somebody behaving unusually and act on that?

A stranger sexually assaulted me and tried to abduct me from a public place. It was so crowded and noisy that nobody could tell what he was doing or hear me shouting. If that man was willing to do that in a busy, public place what the fuck do you think he would have done in secluded woodland? I absolutely fucking despair at the seemingly intentional ignorance of people claiming that women are wrong for ever being worried that a man is behaving strangely or could be a threat to them.

No man has ever died because a woman avoided them or left the area they were in out of fear. Their feelings might be hurt at best. Sadly, some women will have died because they either ignored their instincts out of awkwardness or politeness or had no chance to act on them. Not the same thing.

I honestly don't understand the responses you're getting here. You were there, you felt his behaviour was unusual, so of course you were right to trust your gut and get to a main road.

FWIW, I think it sounds weird too, but it doesn't actually matter what I think- you were the one there, and you did the right thing. So many women become victims of crime because we're so conditioned to not kick up a fuss or make a man feel bad.

Some people are always ready to minimise. Nearly every single female friend I have ever known has a story like this. It would also take a complete dickhead of a man not to realise this would be threatening and to amend his step.

That powerful instinct you had - it felt odd because it was odd - is there for a reason and should be listened to. Read the Gift of Fear. I have a couple of moments where I’ve had this and done something.

This.

There are some great comments and some absolute bollocks on here. Don't minimise and trust your gut. You did just the right thing, OP.