Disclosure: Will it Kill You? The Devil May be in The Details....

 
A recent post over at 5 Miles 2 Empty prompted me to finally finish this one that has been rolling around in my head for several weeks.

I'd like to ask you a question:

Would you sit in your favorite coffee shop and tell your friend about how you run the trail by yourself every Saturday or Sunday for your long run, that you run it no matter what: rain, snow, or sleet, whether there’s anyone around to run with you or not, and sometimes it’s a quick 5 miles, but other times, you run 15+ miles if you’re in training for an upcoming race?

Probably.

Would you share this same info if you knew there was a person sitting at the next table, listening to you, and was a predator or rapist?

Probably not.

And yet, this is what many of us do every day…. online.

As bloggers, we naturally want to share our experiences with our readers, people who’ve become our friends, often giving details as though we were sharing them over lunch.

On the one hand, these colorful details are the foundation of our blogging community, one to which we all belong, contribute to, learn from, and oftentimes, develop new friendships and attitudes.

But on the flip side, these same colorful details can become the very thing that puts us in danger, because even in our cozy blogging community, just like anywhere else in our society, there is always the potential of someone lurking quietly, waiting for opportunity.

I began thinking more about this topic a few months ago when I learned that someone was, for lack of better terms, stalking me online, first, attempting to ‘friend me’ on Facebook. When I politely ignored, he persisted, which led to me using the block option. In turn, he sought me out through other online venues to which I contribute, continuing to try to communicate with me. I continued to ignore. Eventually, he contacted my husband online, wanting to know why I was being so rude. After asking one last time (politely), “Please stop,” things seemed to get quiet. However, every aspect of my life is monitored very closely now.

When this happened to me/us, I began to question my online presence. Should I abandon all social networking? Should I contact the police? Should I change how I share the details of my running experiences? Should I change how I identify myself online?

Some questions led to ‘yes,’ others to ‘no,’ and all led to much more thought about how I (we) disclose in our blogging/tweeting/friending world. My perspective has been completely altered, making me realize (very clearly) what conditions we are creating for ourselves as runners when we choose to share the details.

As a result, I now approach my online world with much greater caution and thoughtfulness, even more than I did before.

As an educator, I often warn students about online strangers, just as parents warn their children. Yet, we often ignore these warnings ourselves.

Why is that?

And what will it take for us to change how we do things?

Hopefully, this post will serve

as a catalyst for change.

Let's start an awareness campaign.

Just as my own personal sense of awareness was heightened, two things happened:

1. I discovered trail running.
2. Chelsea King was abducted, raped, and murdered while running a trail.

With many bloggers sharing the virtues of their beloved trails, often including pictures, I decided to give it a try after expressing my main frustration with long runs: mapping out enough distance to cover the required training miles. Measured, marked, free of autos, and scenic, trails seems to be the ideal way to do a long run, right? Seemingly, filled with people who are also running, walking, and biking, right? The first question my husband asked me when I mentioned I’d like to try out trail running: Wasn’t that where…….? I answered yes, and he dusted off his bike to ride the trail while I ran.

Well, I’m betting Chelsea King and Nicole Ganguzza thought trail running was perfect, too. As avid runners, these two young ladies knew the virtues of trail running, each setting out for a run on her favorite trail, as many of us often do.

The difference between them and us?

Neither young woman ever made it home.

The reality?

It could happen to any of us.

Let me say that again:

IT COULD HAPPEN

TO ANY ONE OF US.

Unfortunately, most of us know the grim details of Chelsea’s story by now. She was a high school senior in San Diego, CA, who often went for a run after school on a trail near her home. She allegedly ran into a man who, according to police, abducted, raped, and murdered her during one of those runs.

A story you may not know is that of Mrs. Nicole Ganguzza, a 26-year-old graduate student who also went for a short run on a local trail after school, and before heading home to prepare dinner. This was apparently a fairly ordinary thing for her to do. But the day would end in anything but ordinary. When she didn’t arrive home for dinner, her husband became concerned. Her body was found near the trail 24 hours later.

Like these ladies, many of us run trails, but unlike these ladies, there is something else that puts us in even greater danger, and is really what I'm trying to tackle here:

We come home from our runs, log in, and tell the world (literally) where we ran, how far we ran, how long we ran, when we ran, and frighteningly, with whom we ran (which is often no one). And to make matters worse, we then share this info in multiple ways: blogging, tweeting, and posting.

Why not just tell the predators, stalkers, rapists, and sickos out there: 

Here's where and when you can find me. Come on out. I'll be there.

Oh, and it's your lucky day... I'll probably be alone.

Ironically, shortly after reading Amanda’s post, I continued on in my reader to see what other runners/bloggers were up to, coming across a blogging buddy whose latest post was all about running a beautiful (desolate) trail during lunch … by herself. Ugh. My stomach flip-flopped.

Now, I’m certainly NOT suggesting we cease all online sharing or quit running trails… HARDLY!  In fact, trail deaths are few and far between.  I am, however, strongly urging you, sitting there reading these words, to give thought to this question, one that I ask myself every time I sit down to write a post:

How much and in what way can I share

without putting myself at risk?

and when planning a run......

How safe will I be?

Don't fool yourself.

Find a friend, take fido, carry mace,

hit the treadmill as a last resort.

Offer to run or bike with a friend.

While I agree it’s disappointing that we have to edit what we share (and possibly how we run), we must always remember that we live in a world in which full disclosure can lead to things we can’t even imagine, including death.

Now it’s your turn.

What will you do differently?

Let’s look out for

ourselves and each other.

Let's start an awareness campaign.

Please pass this on to your fellow bloggers.

Be safe out there, friends…..

Robin