Run safe program

Run Safer Program - Personal safety tips for runners

• Don't wear headsets. Use your ears to be aware of your surroundings. Using headphones, you lose the use of an important sense: your hearing.
• Always stay alert and aware of what's going on around you. The more aware you are, the less vulnerable you are.
• Carry a cell phone or change for a phone call. Know the locations of telephones along your regular route, including the UVic Direct Dial phones.
• Trust your intuition about a person or area. React on your intuition and avoid a person or situation if you're unsure. If something tells you a situation is not "right", it isn't.
• Alter or vary your running route pattern. Run in familiar areas if possible. In unfamiliar areas, such as while traveling, contact a local running club or running store. Know where open businesses or stores are located.
• Run with a partner. Run with a dog on a leash!
• Write down or leave word of the route of your run. Tell family or friends of your favorite running routes.
• Avoid unpopulated areas, deserted streets and overgrown areas. Avoid unlit areas, especially at night. Run clear of parked cars or bushes.
• Carry identification, or write your name, phone number and blood type on the inside sole of your running shoe. Include any important medical information.
• Ignore verbal harassment. Use discretion in acknowledging strangers. Look directly at others and be observant, but keep your distance and keep moving. 
• Run against traffic so you can observe approaching vehicles.
• Wear reflective material if you must run before dawn or after dark or in poor lighting conditions.
• Practice memorizing license plates or identifying characteristics of strangers.
• CALL CAMPUS SECURITY SERVICES IMMEDIATELY AT 250-721-7599 (IF ON CAMPUS), AND POLICE AT 9-1-1 (IF OFF CAMPUS), IF YOU NEED HELP OR NOTICE SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS. REPORT INCIDENTS IMMEDIATELY.