The ever phallic town monument at sunset.

As much as I love fall (my favorite season!), it has some drawbacks. One is that it gets darker earlier. Last night, I got home from work just before five, ate a vegan cheese pizza and then waited for about an hour before getting ready to run. I knew that if I ate something, I’d have to wait a while before leaving, and during the summer, when it’s daylight until 9pm, that’s no big deal. As I sat in the sunroom with Spence and it got darker outside (hastened along by the fact that it was overcast), he said, “I thought you were going to go running?”

“I am,” I said. “I can’t go now because I’ll probably throw up the food I just ate.”

“Well, I don’t like you going running when it’s dark.”

I told him I’d have to keep in mind that the season is changing and maybe go right after work, rather than coming home for dinner first. I told him my path and what time I should be expected home.

I left the house, walked to the end of the street and headed to the downtown area. One of the reasons I feel reasonably comfortable with this route is precisely because there are people and houses and activity. As I made my way through a stretch of street, I moved from the sidewalk to the road because there were walkers in front of me. I passed an elderly lady and then I saw a group of young punks (in their 20s, I’d say) up ahead, so I stayed on the street. When I ran passed them, one said “Hi,” and I responded in kind, and another said, “Go back to the woods!” Now, I don’t even know what this means. I told Spence it reminds me of the riddle, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? This version is, if someone tries to insult you, and you don’t understand the insult, have they actually insulted you? Regardless, it was clear they were not part of the welcoming committee.

I continued my run, turning up a stretch of road that has fewer homes but a bit of traffic and a sidewalk to stay on. I had in mind my where I needed to get to in order to reach two miles, before turning around. But as I headed that way, I saw two guys crossing the street, coming over to the sidewalk. Normally I would have just continued running past them, but something about the way they carried themselves, they way they were dressed (shaved heads and one was wearing a wife beater, I think…), and that fact that one group of guys I’d passed had already been obnoxious, I thought, you know what, self? This is as good a place as any to turnaround. So I ran up to a light pole and touched it (to make it seem like that was my goal and that I wasn’t randomly turning around from these guys in mid-run), and altered my path a bit.

When I got home, I told Spence what had happened and he was quickly pissed off. We live in a town where our town’s state representative recently withdrew from her reelection campaign because of racists threats she was receiving (she’s African-American). In one of the stories I read about that situation, it was noted that Vermont is 96% white, or something incredible. He told me he doesn’t like me running at night and he also doesn’t want me running in the country.

This, of course, is a problem, because I have a 12-mile route to run on Sunday morning and it definitely goes into country territory. I tell you, 12 miles is a hard distance to map in this town without incorporating countryside. I actually look forward to these runs because it is so cool and quiet. Hardly a person around. When I told Spence that I can’t avoid the country when running long distances and that I didn’t think it would be a problem, he asked me something along the lines of What if you run past a group of Nazis when you’re out in a remote area? Remember, this state is 96% white.

A bit extreme, but I get his point. The fact is, I’ve been quite privileged to have few problems when I’m out and about, and that probably leads to bit of complacency, or a feeling of it won’t happen to me.

But there’s also not a lot to do about the situation if I want to keep running. I have a traveler’s size mace spray arriving today, so that will make me a bit more confident when I’m out alone. I thought back to the self-defense course I took with Cyd to see if I could remember some of the moves they suggested. But that assumes one attacker—I hadn’t really thought about two or more attackers until I saw the two guys coming down the sidewalk when I decided to change my path. I always assumed I could take one person (and that may be assuming too much), but more than one…?

It’s a dark place to go for such an enjoyable activity. And I particularly enjoy running alone. I guess it’s just a matter of staying alert and being as prepared as possible (while assuming the best of people).