It's time to start trying to get in shape again after months of travel and too little exercise. So I headed off this week to run over the delightful little mountain just south of San Francisco: 5 or more trail miles and 1000 vertical feet. It's a pretty isolated place; often I don't see anyone else on my usual circuit.
So I encounter this posted by the parks department:
Yes, I decided to run my usual circuit anyway. And all was well. But I am mightily annoyed that I have to carry this anxiety. I am not willing to let this guy keep me away from one of my favorite routes. So far, he's done nothing worse than grope; my calculation would almost certainly be different if he'd been violent. Am I crazy?
3 comments:
Get a wrist pepper spray. They are not heavy, barely seen and would be there if something happened-- even seeing the guy molesting someone else. One thing they usually pick on smaller women; so having some height may cut down on your risk. They want it easy. Being alert to what's around, not running with an ear bud lets you know if someone is coming up behind you. Where I live that can be a cougar more likely than the human type predator.
This park also sometimes has cougar warnings. An occasional lone male ventures up the peninsula looking for territory. The runner wisdom about cougars is that you'll never know what it you. :-)
Mostly cougar are just curious. My kids, when teens, had one follow them off the hill behind our house. They could hear it was there but never saw it. The big thing for runners with them is watching especially when near treed areas and a bluff as they generally get above their prey to leap down and break the neck.
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