RW says 43% of women - just 4% of men - have been harassed on their runs

Off topic rojo worship wrote:

rojo, are you running at the same pace that you were when you were running 100 mpw?

No. 30% slower.

Of course I've been harassed as a guy the way you described.

But I assume they mean harassed by women.

I once had a woman yell "put some meat on those legs!"

If that counts.

I've noticed that the number of homophobic insults on runs has gone way down in the last ten years. It used to be just about every run, now I can't think of the last time it happened. Maybe as gays have become more accepted, average guys don't feel like they have to yell at skinny shirtless dudes to prove they're straight?

Personally I wouldn't count taunts as harassment. The people who circle back or throw sh*t at you, that's harassment.

I am assuming that the poll was done of Central park runners or otherwise in new York City or SF or Chicago or other big city where running is all over the plan. I run here in NYC and never hear anything. Back in my hometown I still get run Forrest run to this day.

#I am the 4%

I was called the N word while running in Pueblo, CO, and I'm white as a ghost

I think if you are a hobby jogger and run 8 miles per week, there are less opportunities to get harassed, so maybe that's why the results are skewed.

I agree that the numbers are closer to 100% for both men and women.

I dunno. I can see it being way less for men. I've run for decades and I think I can remember only a handful of times I was harassed in that time. I've lived and run in Austin, TX and the SF Bay Area. Maybe it's worse if you run in rural Indiana or Georgia or other 'up against the wall redneck muthah' places ....

Where the hell do you guys live?! I've never been harassed, other than people who already know me and will tease me sometimes. People I don't know say things like 'keep it up', 'be careful, it's getting dark', or ask where I'm running from and to and compliment me on the effort. Hell, drivers sometimes wave hello when driving past.

When I'm running through a small village, if I see a group of people sitting by the road notice me I'll say 'good afternoon' and they'll say it back to me. If I don't know the village I'll ask for directions to the nearest fountain and often they'll offer me a glass of water.

I live in Spain, never run shirtless, and my shortest shorts are 5" so not that short really. During the fall and winter I often run at night wearing a reflective vest and a headlamp. Looks a bit awkward but the only comments I got have been complimentary for taking safety seriously.

I don't know, the closest thing to harassment in the three years since I've started running have been some looks of contempt and amusement.

John Smith wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

To be fair I imagine it's less funny the 500th time

To be fair, do you even run anymore?

What is your purpose here?

Why are you on a running forum when you have nothing to contribute towards running?

Even your buddy Jamin changed his username and approach.

Please, please, you used to be good. Go back to being good or fvck off.

Wow, you missed his point.

You found it funny/novel bc it happened to you once.

Women get it CONSTANTLY so it just isn't funny or cute or a compliment.

I'd say I get harassed about 75% of the time for a rough number while running

I even remember back in middle school a teacher saying to me "run Forrest run", at the time I had no idea what tat even meant or anything lol

I wouldn't say "run forest run" is getting harassed.

But yeah, 4% is way low. 43% is way low too. It's probably 99% for women, 98% for men. Every runner has been heckled or harassed at some point.

I am part of the 4% too. One time I was out on a run when I was jumped and sexually assaulted by a group of sorority girls. It has scarred me for life.

100% for men and women. Women and skinny distance runners have it worse because of weaker body

When I was in high school and college this happened on a regular basis. Now about 10 years later I can't even remember the last time it happened but I live in a pretty fit town. Most of the comments I get now are things like "you are on the wrong side of the road" and "that is bad for your knees". (female, btw).

I think this depends highly on where you live. In the civilized parts of the country where there are fit people and it is common to see runners and bikers, it is rare to hear anything (as a guy(. LA, SF, etc. Go to the midwest or south and it's a different story though.

I'm sure it's a totally different story for women, of course.

My teammates and I were running shirtless and some woman in a truck drove by and screamed, with her mouth of missing teeth in all its redneck glory, "mmmmmm, must be my birthday!"

I felt objectified

I've been called a f@g while running shirtless well over 50 times.

Numbers way low.

This is not real news.

43% of women would likely report being harassed at least sometimes while walking on a sidewalk, waiting for a bus, in a park, riding a bicycle or doing anything in any public place.

Admittedly you cover more distance and thus come in contact with more sick people when running, but running in and of itself has little to do with being harassed.

I agree the definition of harassment is subjective. What some label as harassment others would not.

I run primarily in isolated rural areas and on trails where I sometimes will not encounter another person on my daily runs for a few days in a row. Still, something happens about once a month that I would label as harassment.

The article states that it was a multiple-choice question: How often are you harassed on a run?

with the possible answers being:

(A) Always

(B) Often

(C) Sometimes

(D) Rarely

(E) Never

With that in mind, I completely believe that 43% of women answered (A), (B), or (C), whereas only 4% of the men did. However, surely 90+% of the men answered (D)! Anyone who has NEVER been harassed on a run either does all of their runs in a cemetery at night, or needs to start putting more miles in.