Two Runners Robbed on the Schuylkill River Trail in the Middle of the Night 

According to 6abc, they were running along the SRT near Walnut Street at 12:30 a.m. 

Photo | M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia

Photo | M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia

A heads up for all our runner friends: Two runners were robbed on the Schuylkill River Trail in the wee hours of Friday morning, 6abc reports. According to 6abc, the runners — a 21-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man — were running along the trail near Walnut Street around 12:30 a.m. when a male suspect robbed them at gunpoint and made off with their phones and wallets. The victims were physically unharmed. Police are still looking for the suspect.

This is not the first news of safety being an issue on the trail: there was the woman who was slashed in the face over the summer, and a slew of sexual assaults and robberies were reported throughout the summer and fall of 2015. In many of those cases, though, the crimes went down in broad daylight. This situation, on the other hand, brings up the question of whether or not runners should be pounding the pavement along the secluded trail at 12:30 a.m. in the first place. Many of the comments on 6abc’s post about the robbery are reiterations of “Running on the SRT at 12:30 a.m.? Really?” with the occasional “Not trying to victim blame” disclaimer. But it’s worth noting that late-night runs along the trail are not unheard of. After all, just a few months ago, Lululemon launched their Ghost Run with a midnight run along the trail.

Still, we’ll be sticking to sunny lunchtime runs along the SRT.

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