Women runners being spat on by random men

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https://metro.co.uk/2025/05/27/thousands-men-spitting-women-runners-happened-20472756/

The worst I have had is men shouting stupid comments out of cars, no spitting yet thankfully but this is disgusting and scary. Why do they do it!?

I've heard deep heat spray is really effective too. For aching muscles of course.

I once deliberately shoulder barged a man who didn't get out of my way when I was running, it was in a crowded area and I was confident he wouldn't be able to risk any kind of retaliation. I hit him pretty hard and it was very satisfying but I was also rather scared as I ran off.

I'm a runner and this hasn't happened to me (yet?), but I'm shocked at how common it appears to be. One in 10 female runners polled had been spat at? That's dreadful! There is clearly a huge amount of hatred towards women from a large subset of men. I'm baffled that a woman minding her own business and going for a run is the target of such misogyny. What about that harmless act is so anger-inducing for some men?

Men are a problem
The ones that do this
The ones that do worse
The ones that don't believe it
The ones that help hide it
The ones that minimise it
The ones that secretly enjoy it
The ones that don't care about it
The ones that think we deserve it

The ones we think are the good guys and say all the right words but do absolutely nothing to stop it.

They're all a problem.

incels

Indeed. Most normal men could take a pretty good guess at who among the cohort of former classmates would be the type to do this as many of them were victims of their antics too growing up. The “bad boy” label is still given a certain glamour but when they hit their late 20s/early 30s they probably start to realise that the bad language and minor dismeanours is no longer impressing anyone, they’re losing or already lost whatever youthful good looks they once had, and so intimidating lone women is now all they have left to break up the monotony of their sad lives.

Absolutely agree. So would I.
Horrendous.

The story is about being spat on by random men while running, what a strange thing to ask

100% this it is a display of dominance.

And yet it makes them look weak, insecure and desperate to be relevant in a woman’s life even in this tiny, revolting way.

My experience of being intimidated by random males is it seems to be very much a poverty thing. It's scruffy looking (usually) younger guys who act like this; never experienced it in nice areas where everyone is reasonably well off. Maybe other people have found differently, though.

Spitting in public, regardless of whether they're spitting at anyone, seems to be generally restricted to young males of an arseholeish demeanour too. Don't think I've ever felt the urge to spit in my entire life (outside of the obvious like brushing my teeth or putting something nasty in my mouth).

What about that harmless act is so anger-inducing for some men?
It can only be a 'man's world' if women can be subordinated. Women who invest their time and energy into doing things for themselves (rather than serving the needs of men) are by definition not subordinated. That is experienced as a threat to men's dominance the impulse in response to this is to try and intimidate the woman so as to bring about her subordination.
Whem there is a group of men there will also be an element of competing to see who can be the most daring.

Bloody hell. Where do you all live? I have no experience or know any f runners who have had this happen.

@JeremiahBullfrog There was that horrific incident on Waterloo? Bridge a few years back when that man pushed a female jogger into the path of a bus. The jogger looked quite prosperous to me (I was actually convinced for a few minutes it was my ex-husband, until I realised I was remembering what he looked like 20 years ago).

This is (now) my experience too @Bloodtuch . I run almost daily and negative comments/ actions are now very rare. They used to be more frequent. What’s strange is it’s not because I’m now invisible because instead men go out of their way to be polite and friendly to me. Lots of standing aside (whereas in the past I’ve had men stand in my way or run me off paths) and saying well done. It’s intriguing. Maybe because I’m older and they think I’m less likely to be threatened. Who knows 🤔

In my experience it’s partly from the same place as ‘Give us a smile, love’ or ‘Cheer up, it might never happen’. A requirement that their male presence be acknowledged. How dare women be out in public doing something that makes them look hot and sweaty, and be unapologetic about not looking ‘appealing’?

Some cunt did it to my year 7 daughter at school

What’s your point?

There was that man years ago on the London Bridge who pushed a woman in front of a bus. Don’t think he was ever traced.

I hate walking on busy main roads because of this, I am not into running but I did have a bottle thrown at me out of a car window once whilst I was stood waiting at a bus stop, it hit me so hard in the face I was shocked to see it was just a plastic bottle as it really hurt for ages after.

It was Putney he was nick named the Putney pusher

I'm a walker not a runner. On separate occasions I've had; an empty bottle, a full can and an egg thrown at me. I've also had a car full of men shouting, "TRAIN" as I safely crossed an empty train track. When I was at school I was punched by a boy 2 years older when I was walking along (I had never met or spoken to him). When I would walk home from school men would make sexual remarks to me. I have always lived in very "nice" areas. I think it's a matter of who men perceive as vulnerable and they they lash out when there will be no repercussions for them.

Any sort of harassment of anyone while running is completely wrong obviously.

That said, I do wonder if the stats are not accurate.

The report should say "One in ten women [who answered a poll] say they have been spat on while running".

It was a poll, not a randomly selected group of runners. I imagine those who have been spat on were more likely to respond.

I have been a runner all my life. I do not live in a city. I have never had any bother at all. I have not heard of anyone in my running club being spat on.

I am not minimising the issue, but would prefer it to be investigated and reported accurately.

Because a man might break their jaw?

I only run in parks and I notice that men will deliberately walk towards and in my path to make me have to go around them. It’s such a weird controlling thing to do.

Also because they dislike women in a way they don’t dislike other men. Because it’s always women. Weedy little men don’t even get this