{"id":7390,"date":"2025-10-27T06:24:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T07:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=7390"},"modified":"2025-10-29T21:33:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T21:33:35","slug":"women-runners-face-a-depressing-reality-now-the-clocks-have-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/women-runners-face-a-depressing-reality-now-the-clocks-have-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"Women runners face a depressing reality now the clocks have changed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Winter means women run less (Pictures: Supplied )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘I feel like I have to be a lot more wary of my surroundings and keep an eye out for anything that doesn\u2019t look quite right,’ says Jane Rose, 50 from London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘Running in the summer<\/a> months is a lot easier. I don\u2019t always have to have my wits about me.’<\/p>\n

Like many of us, the 50-year-old Londoner feels more ‘apprehensive’ about training after the clocks went back this weekend.<\/p>\n

Getting harassed is something women who run are used to any time of the day, with a Metro investigation earlier this year exposing an epidemic of women runners being spat on<\/a> and feeling the need to illegally arm themselves on runs<\/a>. But when it’s dark, with fewer potential witnesses, it can feel even more sinister.<\/p>\n

Data from This Girl Can<\/a> found almost three-quarters (72%) of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter.<\/p>\n

One in four (24%) ensure to take well-lit routes, almost a quarter (23%) avoid certain areas altogether and one in five (20%) glance behind them to ensure they\u2019re not being followed.<\/p>\n

‘I tend to train alone and prefer running in the mornings, but the winter months make this harder for me \u2013 I feel like I have to run on the main roads so I am visible to traffic and feel more seen,’ says Jane. <\/p>\n

She’s had men beep and jeer at her from their cars, and on one occasion she had to cut her workout short, as she had a bad feeling about a man nearby who kept running into her pathway.<\/p>\n

‘I find that when running in the morning in the winter months, every noise I hear makes me feel uncomfortable or like somebody is there,’ she adds. The paranoia is rooted in memories of intimidating behaviour. <\/p>\n

‘I am constantly looking left\/right to check for people behind me, worried about tripping over pathways and watching my back.<\/p>\n

‘All this extra planning can mess up my training plan.’<\/p>\n

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Jane says winter messes up her training schedule (Picture: Jane)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For some, experiences of physical assault have caused them to change their running behaviour. <\/p>\n

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