After the University of Oregon Police Department released a security advisory warning on Jan. 21 regarding a man approaching students in cars, students took to social media to report potential kidnapping and human trafficking near campus. UOPD has since refuted these posts tbut recommended that students remain cautious when walking or running outdoors.
Magdalena van Leeuwen began running as a random coincidence in middle school, but kept up with running through college and graduate school. A member of the UO Running Club, she said she has been harassed while running in Eugene, once being catcalled at Skinner Butte.
“It made me feel more annoyed than anything else,” Leeuwen said. “I usually stay at the top and look at the view, but that time I just ran right back down to the river.”
Keaton Ibendahl, a UO freshman and Running Club member, said she has not had any “weird experiences” since moving to Eugene.
“I’m surprised that I haven’t had anything odd happen,” said Ibendahl.
Ibendahl described harassment she faced on runs in her hometown of St. Louis, to the extent of being followed by a man during a run with her friend.
“It happened a couple of times in St. Louis where either guys would shout at me,” said Ibendahl, “or drive alongside me while running alone.”
According to a survey conducted by Runner’s World magazine in 2019, “84 percent of women said they have experienced some kind of harassment while running that left them feeling unsafe.”
Both students offered techniques to stay safe on runs based on their past experiences.
Leeuwen chooses to not listen to music while running and typically runs on the Prefontaine Trail during the day, when there tends to be more foot traffic.
Ibendahl does not run on trails that someone has not recommended to her first, as she does not have a car in Eugene and has to plan safe routes back to her residence hall. She always runs with a fully-charged phone and wears reflectors so that people will see her.
Additionally, Ibendahl uses a ROAD iD — an attachable tag with her name and phone number — in case she runs into an emergency while running. That way, people who find her will be able to identify her.
“It’s kind of morbid, but it makes me feel safer,” she said.
Ibendahl also never runs at night, she said, out of fear that she may end up in danger the one time she chooses to go running in the evening.
Despite the safety measures that Ibendahl and Leeuwen take, both encouraged runners to not let their fear stop them from running. Leeuwen advised that people start running in places that are comfortable and runner-friendly, and to run with other people.
UO Police Chief Matthew Carmichael echoed many of Leeuwen’s and Ibendahl’s precautions, with some additional advice tailored to the UO campus.
In terms of basic safety measures, Carmichael recommended running during the daytime with a charged phone, and using location tracking apps Life 360 or Find My Friends.
While he said he could not recall any trail in particular being dangerous to run on, he recommended running on campus, since here are preferred lighting paths on the university’s “Safety at Night” map that follow the “police call boxes,” also known as emergency call boxes.
Carmichael pointed out that crime rates suggest that it’s safer to run on campus as opposed to off campus. However, anyone who wants to run off campus can check the daily crime log to see if anyone has made police calls along their route.
“This is tried and true information,” Carmichael said.
For those who want to take additional steps for general safety, UOPD offers a basic self defense and pepper spray course, where the university shares safety resources and distributes pepper spray.
Because these classes exist online now, a representative from the UOPD will deliver pepper spray to students.
“Pay very close attention to safety,” Carmichael said.
