Anonymous wrote:Problem with not wearing headphones while running is that some of us are covering some pretty long distances and the distraction of music can be incredibly helpful. When you're out there by yourself for 10-20 miles, the music is a godsend. I don't think it is asking too much as a woman to want to be able to run on a public trail, in the middle of a metro area, in broad daylight, without having to worry about being raped or attacked because - god forbid - we're wearing headphones. (good point about cyclists - they can come up pretty fast, but we really do need to remember to look both ways and not get careless.)

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Yes, in dream world lala land, this statement is completely correct, but this is the real world and people, especially women on foot alone in isolated areas need to be aware of their surroundings. Common sense my dear.

Anonymous wrote:Problem with not wearing headphones while running is that some of us are covering some pretty long distances and the distraction of music can be incredibly helpful. When you're out there by yourself for 10-20 miles, the music is a godsend. I don't think it is asking too much as a woman to want to be able to run on a public trail, in the middle of a metro area, in broad daylight, without having to worry about being raped or attacked because - god forbid - we're wearing headphones. (good point about cyclists - they can come up pretty fast, but we really do need to remember to look both ways and not get careless.)

I'm the PP and I run 10 to 20 miles at a time as well. Of course, we should be able to do what we want and not worry about being attacked, but the fact is we need to be aware of our surroundings. As for the cyclists, I've had near misses even when I'm not the one shifting form left to right. Thats what really scares me. We can be as careful as possible but we can't make them be careful.

Problem with not wearing headphones while running is that some of us are covering some pretty long distances and the distraction of music can be incredibly helpful. When you're out there by yourself for 10-20 miles, the music is a godsend. I don't think it is asking too much as a woman to want to be able to run on a public trail, in the middle of a metro area, in broad daylight, without having to worry about being raped or attacked because - god forbid - we're wearing headphones. (good point about cyclists - they can come up pretty fast, but we really do need to remember to look both ways and not get careless.)

Never, ever wear headphones when you run. Seriously, don't. Maybe one earbud so you can still hear, but covering your hearing completely is very, very dangerous. You have to be aware of your surroundings, not just because of predators but because of cyclists. A woman was killed on a paved path in Dallas a few years ago because she was listening to music as she ran and didn't hear the cyclist coming and stepped into his path. I run on the CCT and the cyclists are bad enough when I hear them.

PP who was approached on the CCT -- where was it and what time?

I had something similar happen on the W&OD years ago. A young-ish guy (dark haired, vaguely middle eastern or hispanic looking) was jogging along in wind pants and as I passed him at a slightly faster pace, he started talking to me and running alongside me. It was a very cold day so I was wearing double-layered running tights. He asked me if the tights were better for running than what he was wearing, and I said definitely yes - much more aerodynamic. I did not tell him I had layered two pairs - figured i'd keep that to myself in case he had plans to rape me. He ran alongside me, chatting for maybe 4-5 minutes, then he said, "ok, you're running too fast for me - have a good one" and I continued on without him.

My gut on him was "possibly harmful" when he first approached me and "mostly likely harmless" after a couple minutes of chatting.

the picture thing would have freaked me out, OP.

Also, I was assaulted years ago on that trail, in broad daylight in the middle of the day, without headphones, approaching the crossing over route 7, so I'm pretty wary about strangers. The guy grabbed me from behind and I fought him off and he ran away. Freaked me out and I filed a police report, but it was literally a week before 9/11 happened so I suspect followup was minimal. (a couple weeks later, a guy fitting the same description knocked a teen off her bike and raped her.) Ladies - be careful out there.

OP, your experience and descriptions sounds so familiar. Last spring there were multiple instances of a man on the W&D trail in Vienna who would approach runners and walkers, ask them a question, comment on their clothing and then ask if he could take their picture (with his phone). There were quite a number of similar accounts at the time and the Vienna police did an amazing job with a strong presence on the trail and of monitoring it all. This man approached an acquaintance of mine last spring and her co-runner. When this guy asked them if he could take a picture of their running pants they said no and turned to leave but he took a picture anyway. They ran off and immediately called the police. Here is just one of the local reports from last spring when the same disturbing encounters happened: http://vienna.patch.com/articles/police-seek-man-who-offered-teen-ride-on-w-od

So glad that you are ok, OP