REGINA - Regina resident Libby Michalski recently started a new run club, She Runs at Night. so runners like herself can feel safer during the later hours of the day.
Michalski, who started taking up running last year, talked about how she felt unsafe at nighttime in the city.
"There was a couple nights in a row that I had [been] running at night. And it got pretty dark pretty fast while I was out on the run. And I felt rushed to get home and finish my run because of how dark it is. And I checked my watch, and it was only about 6:37 [at night]. And I was like, oh, it's not that late, but I still feel unsafe because of how dark it is, unfortunately. And on the path that I take home from my running route, there's no lights. So it was just a little bit [worrying as] it was pretty dark out, and I was [in] a panic to get home."
For Michalski, part of that panicking comes from not being able to see figures or people clearly before she gets close to them due to her bad eyesight.
Michalski also mentioned how Regina is not known to be the safest city at night. She added women going out by themselves makes them feel like a target.
Not only has Michalski felt this way, but she noted how others have told her they have the same feelings, too.
A couple of weeks later, after she started running outside in the dark, Michalski went on social media and saw posts about people starting their own run clubs because they had the same unsafe feeling at night.
After doing some research into running areas around the city, Michalski decided to start her own run club, She Runs at Night.
The club runs a route around the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre parking lot, running for around 4.5K. Depending on factors, the run could be about 40 minutes.
Even though Michalski was excited to start her run club for others to join in, she has felt a "little discouraged" by the lack of turnout so far.
Due to the weather, Michalski has had to cancel multiple meetups which happen on Mondays. Another reason is there have only been two times when people showed up at the meetup spot, leaving Michalski to run by herself numerous times.
While she felt a little discouraged by a lack of turnout, Michalski understands "not everyone likes to run outside and not everyone likes winter like I do. And it is still a very new club. So not everyone knows about it. And eventually, it'll grow and it'll get bigger. And with time, I guess everything takes time. So nothing happens overnight."
She also noted how "I was only posting [information about the club] on Instagram, and I don't think I was reaching that many people. Since I have started posting [the club information] on Facebook and sharing [this] to groups in Regina, I have had a lot more people show interest."
People have told Michalski once the weather gets better, they would be interested in joining the club.
Additionally, two other run clubs, Run Kulture and Stride Squad Running Club offered their support to Michalski’s new club.
Michalski spoke about how Laura Sullivan, who’s with Run Kulture, gave her advice and shared her Instagram page to spread the word about She Runs at Night. One of the clubs also suggested Michalski and them should collaborate over the summer.
Seeing this support, Michalski feels the run clubs in Regina help out one another instead of going against each other.
Once the weather improves and people return to the city from the holidays, Michalski hopes to see a few people consistently come out and run with her.
Since Michalski started running last May, she has competed in several marathons. Michalski participated in the Queen City Marathon, where she raced in two 5K races and one 10K race. She noted how she enjoys trying to compete for medals but understands finishing a race is also a big accomplishment.
Looking ahead to future events she wants to participate in, Michalski mentioned the seven major marathons which take place around the world under the World Marathon Majors. The marathons take place in Boston, New York, Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Sydney and London.
Michalski wants to compete in these marathons but understands entry is not guaranteed.
She also pointed out that running is more of a recreational activity for her rather than something that would be a career.
Anyone interested in joining She Runs at Night can
