Molly Slater-Sheffield started These Girls Run after a man followed her while she was on a run. Five years later, the group is changing the fight for women’s safety.
The morning was still dark as I prepared to trek from Kingston to Clapham to join These Girls Run for their fifth anniversary event. On my way out the door, I paused to perform a mental checklist that will be familiar to most female runners:
Are these leggings too tight? Do I tie my hair up? Did I share my location? Earbuds in or out?
For female runners everywhere, the darker winter months are a particularly anxious time of year. Despite the plethora of guides offering advice on how to run safely in winter, 72% of female runners still adjust their outdoor exercise because of safety fears.
However, These Girls Run don’t intend to allow this statistic to stop them from running.
Founded by Molly Slater-Sheffield, These Girls Run (TGR) is an all-female running group that brings women together in over ten different cities across the UK for regular runs, local community events and conversations about women’s safety.
For its fifth anniversary, the group sought to take a practical approach to the issue, hosting a 5K run and a panel discussion to challenge how we talk about women’s safety, not just in winter, but year-round.
When I arrived at the event, I was immediately greeted with hugs and pink hair ribbons. Girls of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds had come to celebrate.
While doing the important work of pinning ribbons into our ponytails, I asked TGR running ambassador Kiaya Philips what inspired her to join the club.
She said: “The thing that initially drew me to TGR and kept me coming back was how comfortable it made me feel. Everyone is always super friendly, and we have great fun on every run we do.
“It’s also super empowering to go on runs during the dark with other women around you.”
As the women formed lines to warm up for the run, I was admittedly nervous.
Despite four races under my belt, I’ve avoided run clubs, finding them intimidating and at odds with my preferred goal of getting a good run time rather than having a fun time.
But as we set off around Clapham Common at a conversational pace, pausing to take pictures every mile, I began to relax. With TGR ambassadors at the front and back, making sure no one was left behind, I found myself chatting to the girls next to me instead of looking over my shoulder, laughing as we struggled the last half mile instead of adjusting my clothes. In a way, our little group felt untouchable, if only for five kilometres.
After the run, the women gathered in chairs, many sitting beside participants they hadn’t walked with, waiting to hear from guest speakers who were there to discuss women’s safety.
When asked about tips women receive for staying safe in the winter, the panel redirected the focus to men’s actions.
“Why should the onus of a woman’s safety be on women?” said Ally Head, women’s health editor for Marie Clark UK. “These lists just seem to place the responsibility of safety back on women when really, it’s about men’s actions.”
After the event, I spoke with founder Molly, who shared her thoughts on what she’d change to keep women safer.
“I think people need to be talking about women’s safety all year round,” she said. “It’s great that so many people and platforms are talking about it as the clocks change, but what happens in February, May, August? We still don’t feel safe then. Male allies are also really important in helping us to share this information.”
While TGR cannot solve violence against women overnight, it offers a vital space for women to run, share their experiences and build community. And as Molly looks to the group’s next five years, she hopes to build that foundation.
“I would love TGR to be in every major city in the UK, with free weekly runs offering safe and supportive spaces for women of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. It’s about the running, but it’s about so much more than that. Building your confidence can affect every part of your life, and I’d love us to champion that.”
You can find TGR at their next event by following them on Instagram or joining their CLIQ page, where they organise all their events.
