Women run for a lot of reasons.

They want to stay healthy. They want to get fit. It clears the mind. It strengthens the body. It can deliver a rush of endorphins.

What it’s not supposed to do is make a woman a target. Unfortunately, that happens all too often.

The Tribune-Review ran a story last week on “The Hazards of Running While Female.” It detailed so many of the hurdles that women joggers and runners encounter while hitting the pavement.

Lewd comments and sexual harassment are just the tip of the iceberg. Women have been assaulted while out for a run. They have been raped. They have been murdered.

It doesn’t just happen in a city like New York. A Cook Township man was charged with indecent exposure, harassment and stalking following an incident at Weller Field in Ligonier.

It doesn’t just happen in the dark of night. The Ligonier assault happened on a Wednesday morning.

None of it should happen. Not just the crimes. Every whistle and every demeaning, rude gesture is a demoralization of spirit and a dehumanization of person. It isn’t just the bloody violence that makes a woman feel unsafe. It is knowing that so many of the men she runs past feel entitled to their own small piece of her as fantasy and entertainment.

A woman should be able to run alone without thinking about an escape plan or a defense strategy. She shouldn’t need to invest in a treadmill or join a gym. She should be as safe as a man when she laces up her sneakers.

But she’s not.

And the only way to push forward to getting to a place where safety doesn’t discriminate is for women to not back down and to claim their piece of the road.

That’s a great reason to get out there.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)