Runners Take To Scarborough Streets To 'Lift The Curfew' On Winter Nights

Runners and walkers will gather in Scarborough this Wednesday evening to raise awareness of women's safety when exercising in the dark.

Women on the Yorkshire Coast will reclaim the dark winter evenings this Wednesday during a mass participation run in Scarborough.

The 'Let's Lift the Curfew' event will take place at The Sands, offering a five-kilometre run or a two-mile walk to highlight the safety measures women feel forced to take when the clocks go back.

The national campaign, backed by 'This Girl Can' and England Athletics, is being supported by several local groups including Active Filey, Run Scarborough, and Rise and Shine Runners.

Kat, who recently created the Scarborough Girls Run Club, explained the extensive precautions she takes when exercising alone.

"If I was to go for a run on my own in the dark, even if it is at like half past fur or five o'clock, I will share my location with somebody for 8 hours on WhatsApp. I will also let them know the route that I'm running.

I will only ever run with one headphone in so I can hear traffic. There's the amount of things that you think about just to go for a run, it's insane.

I just think it's really important to highlight the specific measures that women feel like they have to put in place in order to enjoy a hobby, purely because now the clocks have changed and we're losing that daylight."

The demand for secure group exercise has proven substantial since the new club launched on the coast.

Kat added:

"We've only started it maybe about six weeks ago and in our first couple of weeks had over 50 women turning up, which was huge because there's already so many running clubs in Scarborough, so when 50 women turned up to that first session, that was amazing. That just really goes to show that need for that like safe space for women to come together and physically exercise.

There's definitely more security and numbers. But I think as well when you get into the colder months and the darker months, just knowing that you've got a place to be and you've got a group of people that you can meet, it just makes it a lot easier to get out and be able to enjoy the thing that we all love to do."

The mass event brings together multiple local groups to promote safety in numbers. Nikki Doody, a trainer at Scarborough Athletic Club, outlined the purpose of the gathering.

Nikki Doody said:

"On Wednesday, we are doing the second annual Break the Curfew run. Now, this is a run, it's not just for women, it's for everybody but to encourage women to come out and run of a night time. They don't necessarily have to be on their own. They can come with friends, and we are in a lucky position at the minute that Scarborough and Filey do have a large number of running clubs, to get people out, get people active, but also, it's for everybody to raise awareness of the best ways to run after dark."

The darker evenings often act as a barrier to physical activity, but group running provides both safety and essential motivation.

Nikki Doody explained:

"running is easy to not do, it it's harder to get out the door and if you've got some encouragement to get out the door, be that just some knowledge, or going meeting friends or going to a club, whichever one it is, and you will find you will go and then once you get there, it is a lot more fun, and running with other people than it is on your own."

Nikki says the unexpected elements of running at night can easily startle solo runners, making the presence of others a comforting factor.

"You just don't know what's coming around the corner and it's not necessarily that something bad's going to happen. It's just somebody walking the dog in the dark and they're all in dark clothes and it makes you jump. You walk around the corner and somebody's there and you go, "Oh." And then it it then just unnerves you and then you're unsettled.

But if you're with somebody, um be it one person, be it half a dozen, be it 20, it's more fun and the miles go so much quicker when you're with somebody else."

Organisers are encouraging participants of all abilities to join the event, which is being held in partnership with the Untitled Love Running Club.

Confirming the event details, Nikki Doody said:

"on Wednesday the 28th of October, 7:00 p.m. at the Sands we'll be doing a 5-km run and there's also a 2-mile walk. It's not just for people who want to run."