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 live in a nice "desirable" market town in Hampshire (for those saying this stuff only happens in rough areas) and I got screamed at this morning on my run.

Running at 6am, literally the only person in sight, on a wide pavement separated from the road so absolutely nowhere near his vehicle, no chance he thought I would step out in front or anything.

I didn't even hear the words but he'd wound his window down and really bellowed - sounded furious.

I live in a very green, pleasant suburb of a city. I've witnessed men shouting abuse at women runners, around our area, usually from the safety of their vehicles. It's just something that some men do. Heckle women.
It's depressing.

This ⬆️

How dreadful! Recently a few of my female friends have asked to run with me and another male runner friend going cross-country. I haven’t explored why but could this be the reason? I’ll have to ask.

Awful!

It's just men

And they're cowards too

Usually in cars, whereas women are on foot

This story has been shared in an online news space I am in with mostly men.

They are insisting all the women are liars

"Womens Hour" ran a feature on this earlier this week ( possibly Wednesday?)
Several women contacted the programme to give their experiences, it's definitely a thing...

I have run for 20 years and have never experienced this, I also run in a women's only running group and no one has ever mentioned it. It is disgusting and I think I would go mental if someone spat on me. I do fell running, which is mainly men with a few women and the men have always been really supportive of me and the other ladies who run. I presume this type of behaviour is by a certain type of man!

Quelle surprise

Yes- I read this online, and most of the male comments were disclaiming it- saying it couldn’t be true.

Fuck me this is shocking 😮. I run, I’m tall fit and attractive (sorry that’s how I come across 😳) but I have resting bitch face so I wonder if that protects me? I also live in an um edgy part of London 😂, maybe there is more respect for women among the local community? (Lots of Asian families, Black families, not too many working class white people).
speculating here, no evidence for anything.

These pathetic specimens also hate female riders. Something about a woman on a horse makes them really unpleasant

It was Putney Bridge. I think there were a number of men investigated for it, but no one was ever charged.

I read the theory (maybe in a post related to the article in the OP?) that men hate the idea of women in sport in general because it's about them using, celebrating, benefitting from their body in a way that has nothing to with sexuality, man-pleasing, child-caring etc and they can't deal with it.

Some men.

I’ve been shouted at and spat at from men in passing cars a couple of times while out running. This was in London and elsewhere in south east.

Hypothesis, obviously not serious. Whereas the average difference between humans and other6 apes is expressed as 98%, ie, we have 98% genes in common, this bunch of male have 99% in common with chimps, and have not finished evolving completely into Sapiens. Subconsciously aware of their, they can only us animal forms of expression to express their "thoughts"

I rarely run outside now, unless with others. I have had various fluids thrown at me. Been called all sorts of unpleasant names, been told that I was too fat to even rape. I have had foodstuffs thrown at me and once had a van drive up on the pavement and I had to hop over a wall. Well the corner of a low, 2’ wall and off up a loke which was not wide enough for a van.
I have a treadmill and a big fan now.
I have had similar abuse cycling. I don’t live anywhere near London so dread to think what it must be like there.

Is it time for personal bodycams to become available (if they already aren't)?

I had a youngish man slam into my shoulder in a Sainsbury's Local but he apologised and said, "sorry sweetheart'. I thought it was odd though as loads of space around us. It really hurt.

I also had a small, dumpy older man called me a slut when I was dropping my DD off at for a music lesson. I had jeans and a t-shirt on and it was late afternoon. He looked pretty regular with a plastic bag etc. there was tons of space between me and him. Knowing that I could outrun him, I asked him who the hell he thought he was talking to. He repeated it and then sort of wobbled after me but turned around when he saw I was meeting my DH.

Pointscoring, unhelpful post.

I think it maybe more of a British thing, attitudes that are imported from U.S. as I have family in a Scandinavian country and the women don't have the same hostilities towards them.

Cities can be crazy.

Many years ago I had some water flung at me in Glasgow by a random car. It missed me but it was the principle of the thing. Haven’t experienced this anywhere else.

When I lived in Liverpool a flatmate who happened to be Jewish was spat on. She was wearing a headscarf so we think they actually thought she was Muslim.