The following article was written by Melissa Londry and features the topic, Running Toward Safety: How Trail Running Is Confronting Harassment and Becoming Trauma-Informed. Londry, LPC is a licensed professional counselor and race director for SWVA Running, host of the New River Trail Races, Crystal Springs Ultra Races, and the Damascus Festival of Miles. She advocates for trauma-informed leadership in sport and the integration of safety and accountability. Photos courtesy Aaron Smith/KAYCO Creative.
This year’s US Trail Running Conference (USTRC) marked a milestone for our sport, one that many runners, especially women, have been waiting for. For years, stories of harassment, stalking, and boundary violations have been quietly shared behind the scenes of trail and ultrarunning (Martinez, Tappen, Baker, Edwards & Martinez, 2023). But this year, those conversations came more towards the forefront.
I had the privilege of serving on a panel addressing bringing more women into trail running, and the policy development template used in the creation of the USTRC’s Policy for Respect, Inclusion, and Safety in Trail Running. While there has never been a report of inappropriate behavior at previous USTRC events, this was a first for the Conference and its implementation was meant to serve as a framework that other race directors and races can adapt.
The goal was simple: to give race directors a clear, compassionate structure for how to respond when harm occurs and to move our community from awareness to accountability. Read the policy here.
The Community Speaks: Safety Matters to Everyone
During the session, race directors and attendees were polled about their current policies.
Out of 27 respondents:
6 (22%) already have a safety or harassment policy in place.
16 (59%) said they plan to introduce one, which is 76% of those without an existing policy.
5 (18%) said they’re not sure yet.
0 said “no”
Not one race director dismissed the need for a safety policy. That’s an incredible sign of progress. It shows that our community recognizes the issue and that race directors are ready to lead change.
Why This Work Matters
A 2023 study by Christy Teranishi Martinez and colleagues found that 70% of women and 61% of gender-diverse runners have experienced sexual harassment or assault while running. These aren’t abstract statistics. This is from our peers, our friends, and ourselves.
Women have reported being followed, catcalled, grabbed, or dismissed when they spoke up. Many have changed routes, skipped runs, or dropped from races altogether. That’s not endurance or sport. That’s a sign of traumatic experiences and more likely places runners in a state of survival rather than the sense of freedom we typically experience when trail running or racing.
We can do better.
As both a licensed mental health professional and race director, I wanted to ensure that my own events reflected the principles of prevention, transparency, and accountability we discussed at the Conference. Using the USTRC policy template as a foundation, I adapted it to fit the size and structure of my races while incorporating recommendations from recent research on sexual harassment and assault in ultrarunning. These studies emphasize proactive safety education, visible reporting options, and trauma-informed response, all of which I’ve woven into my race materials, volunteer briefings, and participant packets. You can view how I customized the template for my events here, which now serves as the official safety policy across all SWVA Running races: the long-standing New River Trail Races (originally founded in 2008 and entrusted to me by the previous race directors), the Crystal Springs Ultra Races, and the Damascus Festival of Miles. Each event highlights a different facet of the stunning landscapes of Southwest Virginia, from the peaceful rails-to-trails of the New River Trail State Park to the rugged climbs of Crystal Springs and the community celebration of the Damascus loop, with more races planned in the future to showcase the region’s beauty and spirit while ensuring every runner feels safe, seen, and supported.
From Policy to Culture: What It Means to Be Trauma-Informed and Safe
Policies are a start, but true change happens when a running community becomes trauma-informed. Safety isn’t just physical, but emotional, psychological, and cultural.
Following are the pillars of a trauma-informed race or running community:
1. Safety: Create physical, psychological and emotional safety. Runners should know where to go if something happens and trust that they’ll be taken seriously and believed.
2. Trust & Transparency: Be clear about expectations, rules, and how complaints are handled. Transparency builds confidence.
3. Empowerment: Give runners choices such as the option to hide their entry or report concerns or incidents anonymously.
4. Collaboration: Build policies with runners, not just for them. Include women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ voices in decision-making.
5. Cultural Awareness: Acknowledge that not all runners experience safety the same way. Listen, learn, and adapt.
6. Accountability: A policy without follow-through harms survivors. Take reports seriously, act promptly, and communicate outcomes.
The Path Ahead
The USTRC policy serves as a starting point. The policy is a living framework any race can adapt to meet its size, culture, and community. It’s designed not to burden race directors, but to equip them with a structure for prevention and response.
Trail running is known for its community and kindness in the context of doing incredibly hard things. Policies and structure helps to ensure endurance meets empathy, and accountability coexists with adventure.
To every race director, volunteer, and runner ready to make this shift: thank you. Safety is what makes freedom in trail running possible.
