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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Olivia Petter

Voices: There’s an epidemic of women being barged by men while running

The first shove happened early on. Definitely within the first kilometre. It was subtle and maybe even a bit gentle. Like it could’ve easily been a mistake: maybe he tripped and accidentally pushed his shoulder into my arm. Perhaps it happened so quickly he didn’t even notice, which is why he must not have stopped to apologise. He might’ve mistaken me for a lamp post.

That was how I rationalised it, anyway. But then came the second shove. And then the third. And fourth. In total, seven men either barged past or into me that Sunday while I was running a 10km race. Yes, I counted.

As a longtime runner, I’m used to going it alone. A quick 5km loop in my local park here, a slightly longer jog to clear the cobwebs on a hangover there. It’s rare that I do it with anyone else, let alone in a race format. But last weekend, I decided to switch things up and take part in Saucony’s annual 10km race through central London alongside 17,000 others. Music was blasting through the streets, which had been closed off specially. There were choirs, live DJs, and plenty of people cheering us on as we ran past the London Eye, Big Ben and Piccadilly Circus. It was great fun. Except for the barging.

The run took me 51 minutes and I found it genuinely astonishing that during that time, I was barged into so much. Not one of the men who did it apologised, nor did they even seem to register that they’d almost knocked me right over. It wasn’t exactly like the roads were mega busy, either; participants’ start times for the race had been staggered according to pace. I never felt like I was too close to anyone, even when I did decide to try to speed up towards the end as my favourite Linkin Park song came on (don’t mock my running playlist). In other words: there really was no need to push past anyone to get ahead.

And yet, I’m told that this kind of thing happens a lot. Female friends of mine who run regularly in races and clubs have told me in the past that they’ve had it happen to them more times than they can count and have simply got used to it. “It’s literally every time I do a race,” said one friend who regularly takes part in marathons and 10km races. “There’s a part of me that thinks they should put men and women in separate races, it’s that bad. All these men just assume you can’t keep up with them, and so they run past and move you out of the way.”

Splitting races according to gender is one possible solution. But surely the more obvious one would simply be telling male runners to be a little more dignified. It’s not the tallest order, is it? I’m almost certain this applies to only a minority of male runners. But that doesn’t necessarily make it any better; all it takes is a few shoves to feel like you’re being literally pushed out of doing something you love.

It’s not like this is the first time female runners have raised concerns, either. One in five women is concerned about harassment while exercising outdoors, according to Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign. This can take myriad forms, from catcalling and wolf-whistling to pedestrians trying to block your path, all of which have happened to me several times while running. As if that wasn’t bad enough, astonishingly, one in 10 women has been spat on by men while running, according to a survey of 1,500 female runners conducted by Metro earlier this year.

“After sharing what had happened in a small Facebook group for women in media, 80 women replied in less than 24 hours to say it had happened to them too,” wrote Alice Giddings in a piece for Metro after having been spat on by men while running on two separate occasions. “Once through the safety of my front door, I called my mum and cried before stripping off, washing all my clothes and standing under a steaming hot shower for half an hour, still trying to process what had happened,” she added.

Like many women, I use running to escape the anxieties and stressors of my daily life. I’m on the move. I’m breathing in fresh air. I’m dancing in my head – yes, there’s also a lot of Robyn on the playlist. Nobody can disturb, let alone touch, me. Hence why these frankly bizarre male interventions are so distressing. Women shouldn’t have to tolerate this kind of harassment anywhere. But least of all when we’re doing one of the few things we do just for ourselves. Running is supposed to be enjoyable, fun and, most importantly, peaceful. Let’s keep it that way.

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