This is a great, and really powerful piece. I think it's wonderful and needs to be really widely read, shared, discussed. Especially among male runners! We need to step up and take responsibility for creating this culture, and take ownership of creating the solution, as we ought to. I'm a Chicago runner (hello fellow runner) and a husband, and white and straight and cisgendered. So I know that when I run, I bring a lot of privilege with me, and I try to be sensitive to that fact. I think more importantly, as an ally, I try to make sure that I communicate with other runners in the space that a) I know that my gender can present unwanted feelings of anxiety to other people I am sharing my running space with, and b) I want to try and defuse that anxiety, be an ally, and let all runners know they are welcome. It's really hard to do this in a couple of seconds when passing runners, and I don't really know what the best thing to do is. I guess that I've come up with a couple different things, and I don't know how effective or helpful any of them are (maybe some commenters can give some feedback on what is and isn't a good strategy for affirmative communicating a welcoming, non-threatening attitude). Mostly if I see a female runner coming toward me (and especially when in a secluded area, or at night), I'll give the eye-contact/head-nod combo that I think most runners know just generally means "we are both runners, I acknowledge and value your presence here," often along with the two-fingered peace sign, just to try to communicate that I support them being in that space and mean no harm by my presence. (It may be sexist or heteronormative, but I often give male runners the thumbs-up, and I don't want female runners to think I'm giving a thumbs up to their body as opposed to their running and their presence). I also tend to run rather fast, so I often encounter the issue of coming up on runners from behind. That's trickier. Often times I'll throw a peace sign and a "good job," or "keep it up" or "way to go" as I pass, just to give some acknowledgement and (hopefully) welcoming encouragement. And I always try to monitor people's body language as I approach - there are times when I sense someone tensing up as I am running up from behind, and I'll just turn around and go in the other direction to give them that space. Nobody needs that anxiety of me running up behind them, and I think it's important to acknowledge that the anxiety and fear that people feel in these situations is real and needs to be respected, and that men need to take ownership of their role in creating that fear, and, more importantly, take an active role in diffusing it, and in teaching others to do so, and shaming men who cat-call, leer, or otherwise behave inappropriately. Once again, great post, lots of great comments. Hope to see you out there, running strong, feeling safe. Hopefully it'll be a safer space for all of us when I see you next.