Training Safely – Running

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, warmer weather and longer days are finally here, and that means it’s time to start training outside again.  As you do, it’s important to remember to keep yourself safe during our training.  There is no reason to end your season before it even starts by failing to take measures to keep yourself safe.  Unless you are fortunate enough to live where you can run entirely on trails for all of your training, you will end up running on a road at some point.  Following a few simple rules for running safely will go a long way to making sure that every run is a safe run.

Be Visible

This rule is very easy to accomplish.  Regardless of the time of day you are running, wearing a neon green or neon orange garment with reflective strips front and back is highly recommended.  I choose to wear a safety vest, which allows me wear it over any type of clothes, which is useful as conditions and temperature vary greatly from day to day.  I wear the vest whenever I’m running, day or night.  If I am running in the morning or evening at dusk, I supplement the vest with a lightweight headlamp ( worn in the front ) and a couple blinking red LED lights clipped on to the vest.  My friends and I joke about impersonating UFOs, but it is virtually impossible for a driver to miss noticing us.  The added weight is negligible as well, even if when wearing a headlamp.  Most running stores will carry these visibility items.  Some will also carry headlamps, but if your local running store does not, try a general sporting goods store and looking for the lightweight camping/hiking gear.  If you are unable to find what you’re looking for at a local store, there are numerous sites to order gear from on the Internet.  It all will be fairly inexpensive, less than the cost of a pair of good running shoes for all of the items mentioned here, including the headlamp.

Be Aware

The next important aspect of being safe is simply being aware of your surroundings.  It is critical to maintain situational awareness.  Know where traffic is coming from in front, behind, and to your sides.  Anticipate where vehicles can come from and be   You should generally run on the “left” shoulder of the road, facing into oncoming traffic.  You will be able to directly observe the traffic that is going to pass closest to you.  You should closely watch each approaching driver.  Make sure that you are seen, and that they are taking action to make sure they don’t hit you.  If you think a driver is not moving over or doesn’t see you, step off the road.  No workout is ever so important that it’s worth getting hit!  It is also important to be aware of traffic that is approaching from the rear or the side.  If you are crossing an intersection or driveway, it’s possible drivers may attempt to turn across the road and cross into your path.  For this reason especially, I urge you not to run with headphones.  If you are listening to music, you’re not listening to traffic, and you have lost critical situational awareness.  Even if you are running on a path, wearing headphones prevents you from hearing your fellow triathlete cyclists approaching from behind.

Another component of being aware, is to make sure people know your plans.  If you’ve seen the movie or read the book 127 hours, you realize the importance of making sure someone knows where you are going and when you expect to be back.  Your exact route isn’t required, but at the least a general idea of the area you’ll be running, and how long you plan to be gone.  It’s also important to carry ID of some sort, whether it’s an insurance card, a driver’s license, a road-id isn’t important as long as it’s something with your name on it and a phone number of someone to contact.  There are many things that can go wrong on a run, and having some way to contact someone is important. Especially if like me you rely on your cell phone to remember all your important phone numbers.  You may just need to call someone for a pickup due to a twisted ankle, but if you can’t remember any phone numbers it can be a long walk ( or limp ) back home.

Run Safety Wrap-up:

• Do, run facing oncoming traffic.
• Do, wear highly visible clothing every time you run ( neon green/orange is best ).
• Do, wear flashing lights if you run when it’s dark ( this includes dawn and dusk )
• Don’t, wear headphones.
• Do, carry ID.
• Do, let someone know your route, especially if running solo.

Now that you know what steps to take to help ensure your safety while running, let’s get out there and train!

Safe training!

Coach Chris