in the Bois de Boulogne, runners must adapt to feel safe

With the transition to winter time and a growing feeling of insecurity, runners are adapting to continue practicing their sport. In cities, live position sharing and collective runs reassure joggers.

With the transition to winter time and night falling earlier and earlier, joggers have adapted their practice of running in cities and their woods. In people's minds, the specter of the murder of Philippine found in the Bois de Boulogne, in Paris, had a strong impact.

“In the evening, if it's dark, I'll definitely go running with a friend, someone from my family, but not alone. We feel less safe. With the murder, it's a little scary” , says Tess, a runner who lives near the Bois de Boulogne.

“We try to be more attentive”

“We cannot ignore that there have been two attacks in the space of a month in the surrounding area,” adds Ninon, also used to running in the woods. So, to continue practicing sport with peace of mind, runners have adopted several techniques. To stay on guard, the young woman decided to stop running with these headphones: “We try to be more attentive.”

The runners also changed their training schedules to avoid nighttime and darkness. “Usually, I like to run when I get home from work around 7 p.m., now I have adapted, I tend to run at lunchtime,” explains Ninon.

“It feels good to run in daylight, it’s less gloomy and it’s less cold.”

“Since the time change, I can no longer go in the evening,” continues Oriane, who says she only runs in the morning and only on weekends. To ensure her safety, the jogger always takes her phone with her in order to share her location with her loved ones. “Sometimes, when I come at the end of the day, my dad takes me on his bike around the lake.”

“Being two is a way of securing each other”

In Lille, too, the spirit of the collective is reassuring. Many running associations and groups exist, including Lille Running Bootcamp. Around forty people come out every Tuesday to go running. For Sophie, a member of the association, this solution allows you to run in a “warm” atmosphere but also to remove a heavy mental load: “I don't need to look behind me, to be very attentive to what 'it's happening.'

In Montpellier, groups are also forming to alleviate the feeling of insecurity. “The darkness can be quite worrying for girls, so we feel better when we are all together,” explains Lola.

“Being two is a way of securing oneself […] We hear a lot about attacks in the news, and there are a lot of joggers who are alone,” adds Faustine.