Out of the blue...

[88biscuit]

Hello, my first post. Half way through my run this evening, I was suddenly slapped across my backside by a passing cyclist. I was too stunned (and too tired) to react. Was this just a one off or has anyone else experienced such an incident?

[Gabby08 Graduate]

No! 😱 What did you do? That's horrendous! I'm absolutely livid on your behalf. That's sexual assault.

[88biscuit in reply to Gabby08]

To be honest l didn't know what to do at the time, I'm angry about it now as it's taken the shine of my W9R2. I will contact the police tomorrow. It will probably be pointless, but at least l will feel that I have done something about it

[Gabby08 Graduate in reply to 88biscuit]

I can imagine - you must have been so shocked. You have every right to be angry. My husband is a police officer and he urges you to report it too. He assures me it will be taken seriously. This creep might be doing it all the time and getting away with it.

What's your route like? I hope you're not anywhere too isolated.

[88biscuit in reply to Gabby08]

Just to let you now I reported it to the Police this morning. Thanks to everybody for your support, much appreciated.

[Gabby08 Graduate in reply to 88biscuit]

Excellent - well done you. What an awful experience for you. I hope it doesn't taint your running achievements xx

[Hidden]

Dear grief, what a nasty thing to happen. I guess you should report it just as a matter of record. It's an assault even though at best someone may have done it as a joke. Never heard of it happening before though. Poor you, is your route nice and safe?

[88biscuit in reply to Hidden]

Main road!

[Hidden in reply to 88biscuit]

Please report it, you are okay but you don't know what kind of weirdo thinks that is acceptable. Do you run with or against the traffic flow - where you on the pavement when it happened? Just thinking I always run towards the traffic, but I have to run on the road, so that couldn't happen to me. But at least by reporting it if there a reoccurrence to someone else, a pattern has been noticed. So sorry for you, what a way to lose the shine on your Week 9.

[88biscuit in reply to Hidden]

Pavement that is shared with cyclists. I am hoping that running without headphones next week will enable me to be more aware of what's going on.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Technically it is an assault and you should report it.

My wife was once slapped on the backside as she walked home from a run................but that was because I had caught up with her and wanted to attract her attention when she had two earphones in..............I won't do that again.............

[Charlottefc87 Graduate]

no!! That's outrageous, what a horrid thing to happen. Were there other people about?

[88biscuit in reply to Charlottefc87]

Not at that instant.

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

That is totally out of order...it doesn't matter where you were running, nobody has the right to do that to you....I'd report it if I were you...my Hubby would go mad if that happened to me & want to find out who it was...how dare they????

[Decker]

I can't believe someone would do that in this day. On a main street no less! That is really out of order. You should let the police know so they have a record of it just in case. Congrats on W9R2 though.

[Jewel84 Graduate]

Don't let it take the shine off your last week! These creeps are seriously lacking in any sort of morality. Report it to the police then stick your nose in the air and be proud of what you've achieved. But be careful not to trip over though 🌟🌟

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Really unpleasant.. you have had the replies...report it.

Try to let go of the incident after you report it and,don't let that creepy idiot ruin your run.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

You may not be the only one, so do ring up and report it.

I've not had a problem running (I did once encounter a chap who seemed to be behaving rather oddly and suspiciously around the entrance to the woods but Google thought so too and she really marked his card with her barking) But I have had a 'ride by' bottom groping as a much younger woman. Fortunately fear often makes me very officious so I gave a short speech on sexual assault and the individual scarpered.

Recently we've had a number of incidents in places where I run - not dissimilar to yours I think. Guidance was issued on not running alone in 'isolated' places but I wasn't impressed since one of the incidents was in town and since then a couple of indecent exposures to two women together.

[Langley-Loper Graduate]

Clearly I am in the minority here. If my bottom got slapped while I was running I'd take it as a huge compliment and it would put a spring in my step for the rest of the run. But I am a 48 year old married mother of two so happy to take any attention I can get!

I am now bracing myself for the backlash of criticism, not taking assault seriously, etc....

[Millsie-J Graduate in reply to Langley-Loper]

I'm also an older mother of two but not sure how that definition plays into the debate in all honesty. The fact is I for one, am very choosy about who touches my body. I would like to think that all females, young or old, mothers or not, are safe to go about their business without feeling any kind of threat or intimidation. Allowing any such actions to go unchallenged allows these things to escalate.

[sheps Graduate in reply to Langley-Loper]

Langley -Loper, I'm not going to criticize because I can hear the jokiness in your comment but just have a look at the last words of your 1st paragraph and think about it whether that is really true.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to sheps]

As a mother of two, I would hope that you would teach your children that nobody has a right to touch them, without permission and that they should respect other people's bodies.......... How would you feel if your children were touched by a total stranger?

[Langley-Loper Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

OK, OK, point taken, this is not a subject to be joked about. You are all correct, we have a right to go about our business unmolested by strangers. What is disappointing is that due to the actions of a minority of sickos in society, playful gestures are now seen as potential harassment. We don't know whether the cheeky cyclist in question was the 1 in 100,000 who gets a kick out of touching strange women's bottoms and might try and take it further so we have to err on the side of caution.

On my running route along roads through woods, so far I have only encountered a few motorists, one other runner, three cyclists who looked far too serious to slow down for a slap and an approx. 10 year old boy on a bike who cycled alongside me for a while offering "encouragement" (something along the lines of "can't you run any faster?"). Ironically, I did slap my son's bottom yesterday when he bent over to do up his shoelaces halfway through the run. That was before I read this original post!

[Dpsl Graduate]

My daughter-in-law avoids running in some areas because she attracts unwanted comments in those places. It's so annoying when something that should promote a sense of freedom actually restricts where you can go.

[Hidden]

I am really sorry that this horrible thing happened to you. As others have said, please report it so that any patterns of this behaviour can be noted. These kind of creeps can become more confident over time 😡

Well done on your run btw👍

[Rignold]

What an appalling thing to happen. I'm astonished that such things persist in this day and age. It sounds like something out of Benny Hill, only without any vestige of humour.

[LiisaM Graduate]

I was walking, (on an alternate "not-running" day,) and a walking guy came up behind me and deliberately lightly touched the back of my shoes with his. I was incensed at THIS breach so I understand how you must feel. I want to feel free of others' encroachments when I'm out and about. I'm sorry that happened to you but hope it won't deter you from continuing your program.