Do you run alone? Make sure you read this...

1.Pick your route carefully - knowing your whereabouts is important for safety.

Running in well populated and well lit areas should always come as priority. If, however, you are running by yourself during darker hours - make sure to use preventative measures. These will include: not listening to music, scanning your environment, and notifying your friends or family about your planned route and finish time. You can use live tracking apps for your close ones to be able to follow where you are.

2.When you notice anything suspicious, pick up your pace or run. If you feel like someone is following you, you can also check this by crossing the street and verifying whether the person is synchronising their moves with yours. If that’s the case - run toward safety.

3.If you’re faced with a threat and there are no clear exit routes in sight, use your voice as a weapon. Shout out for help, or try and call emergency on your phone (do you know how to dial emergency with one click?) 

4.When cornered, use anything you may have on you which can be used as a self-defence weapon - umbrella, water bottle, house keys etc. When faced with imminent threat, you can use reasonable self-defence, including blocks, strikes, all the way to last resort biting and eye gouging. Use necessary and proportionate force to the threat you are dealing with.

5.Never map your route on social media, especially right after your run - predators use this information to stalk you, and follow you. They are great at gathering information about your habits and chosen locations. If you share your achievements, do it at a different time, without revealing your exact route.

ABOVE ALL - be aware of your surroundings, at all times, when running alone in isolated spaces. On most occasions, this will act as the best preventative measure.