Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Are You Safe In The Dark?



Now that the long days of summer are over, I thought it would be a good time to look at how to stay safe while running in the dark.

1)   Pepper spray is a great personal defense mechanism, unless you spray yourself in the face. Then you just made your attacker’s job easier. You can use a can of silly string and practice on your kids.
 
2)   Take your “stranger danger” or “weenie” whistle with you. It could even be a cheap whistle from the dollar store. Like a scream, a whistle could help get someone’s attention.

3)   Keep your ID on you. No, your fake ID won’t help you here.  

4)   Have emergency contact information on your phone’s lock screen. By the way, don’t put your own phone number on your lock screen with a message saying, “In case of emergency, call…” or “If lost, please call….” The person who finds your phone would be calling himself.

    5) Make sure you are visible. There are lights that clip to your   clothes or lights that wrap around your arm or leg. There are also headlamps that make you look like a train coming down the railroad tracks. Just make sure you make a loud train noise as you are approaching oncoming runners. My favorite light is the Tracer 360 by Noxgear. It looks like you are a character in the movie Tron, but it will help keep you safe.

6)  Self-defense training can’t hurt. You can learn to throat punch, knee kick, or eye poke.  If you want to really go all out, complete your ninja training and take out your attacker with your throwing star or nun chucks.
 
7)   Don’t have your music blaring. You are much less likely to hear your attacker if you’re rockin’ out to “Eye 
      of the Tiger”. Some tips include running with only one ear bud in, keeping the music at a low volume, or avoiding music altogether.

8)   Tell someone that you are going 
       for a run and how long it should take. Just don’t run off to the strip club instead. When your partner calls to check up on you, it might be hard to explain why they hear the announcer in the background announcing Tiffany 
      to the stage.

Picture Credit: Google Images, labeled for reuse

Copyright 2014
*Used by permission of MOKO.Mobi, Inc.
 

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