A woman has revealed the numerous safety measures she takes before going out on a solo run.

Nelly London, an influencer based in Brighton, who has more than half a million Instagram followers, is an avid exerciser. She shares content with a positive message about body image and health, alongside other important posts around thought-provoking topics.

In a recent video on Instagram, she revealed that because of the safety risks posed to women who go out jogging, she has to take a slew of precautions – including carrying a legal weapon and sharing her live running route with friends so they can raise the alarm if she goes off course.

Her clip follows a 2023 survey conducted by sportswear brand Adidas which found that nearly all women (92 per cent) reportedly have safety concerns about outdoor running. Just over half of them (51 per cent) fear physical attacks. Meanwhile, just 28 per cent of men have the same safety concerns. 

Nelly wrote a caption alongside her video about how she tries to stay safe while running.

Influencer Nelly London (pictured) highlighted the precautions she takes while out running in order to stay safe 

In it, she said: ‘This stuff isn’t an option for women, we don’t do it “just in case”, we do it because we see violent crimes committed against women all over the world EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

‘This is for every woman who lost their lives doing something they loved, something they should have been safe doing, but they weren’t. 

‘They weren’t in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing. 

‘They were just women.’

Her video shows her running, as well as showing how she has to prep for a run by ensuring she implements a long list of precautions that help keep her from harm.

Over this footage, she speaks about these measures in a voiceover, which is also shared via captions written on the screen.

In the video, she said: ‘I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I carry at least one weapon with me when I leave the house.’

While saying this, Nelly showed footage of herself putting what appeared to be a small aerosol-type bottle in her pocket. It could be Armnd, a brand which offers  one of the legal alternatives to pepper spray (which is illegal to possess, buy, or carry in the UK) alongside other safety products like alarms.

As well as sharing her live route with a friend, and keeping her music at a low volume to make sure she is aware of her surroundings, she also carries a weapon (pictured) which appears to be one of the legal alternatives to pepper spray 

She continued: ‘I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I send my live location to at least one person when I go out running and let them know my exact route. So if I go off course, they can call the police. 

‘I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I don’t listen to my music on full volume, because I have to be fully aware of my surroundings at all times. 

I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I can’t run at night by myself, because anything that happened to me would then automatically be my own fault. 

I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I have to regularly change my schedule and running routes to lower my risk of being stalked. 

‘I’m a woman who likes to run. Of course, I think of all the women who have lost their lives doing something they love, something they should have been safe doing, but they weren’t. 

Writing in the comments section of the video, some women shared their own safety tips, and one man revealed what he does to avoid making women feel scared while out

‘I’m a woman who loves to run. Of course, I fear for my own safety when I run. And feel overwhelmingly grateful every time I return home safely.’

Some women in the comments shared their own safety measures when out running.

One said: ‘I always have my hair in a bun, not a pony, ponies are easier to grab.’

Another added: ‘I wish I loved running but it doesn’t love my shins. I however can relate to this wholeheartedly in every way. I used to walk to work and back every day – about a 30 min walk and I’d feel all these feels especially the changing route one. And time of day changing the route too. Keys in hand. It never ends.’   

And one man revealed what he does to ensure he doesn’t scare women, explaining: ‘Whenever I walk behind a girl, I always stop so we have distance and she doesn’t think I’m following her, why am doing that? Well because of this video.’