The road should not belong to fear, it belongs to us all - IOL

ELIZABETH ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo, 38, is one of nine women whose deaths are being investigated in Ekurhuleni. She disappeared after leaving her Kempton Park home for an afternoon run on September 10. Moselakgomo was known as a sports fanatic, and running was particularly close to her heart.

THERE is something wonderfully ordinary about going for a run.

You lace up your shoes, check your watch and step outside. Perhaps you have a familiar route, a running partner, or a club session. Perhaps you are chasing a personal best, clearing your head after a difficult day, or simply enjoying an hour to yourself.

As a recreational road runner, I understand that feeling.

Running is more than exercise. It becomes part of your routine, your social life and, for many of us, an important part of our physical and mental well-being.

That is why the death of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo has affected the running community so deeply.

Moselakgomo, 38, disappeared after leaving home for her usual run in Kempton Park, Gauteng. Her body was later found in the Rhodesfield area. Her death came amid the discovery of the bodies of several other women in and around Ekurhuleni Municipality. Police have identified concerning similarities in some of the cases and intensified their investigations, although they have not confirmed that all the cases are connected.

For runners, this is difficult to process because it is so familiar.

We know the road. We know the routine. We know the feeling of stepping outside with our running shoes on. And suddenly, something that once represented freedom comes with another thought: Will I be safe?

That question can change the experience of running.

The early morning run that once felt peaceful can feel vulnerable. A familiar route can suddenly seem threatening. A woman who normally runs alone may decide she cannot. Others may reconsider running altogether.

This is the part of the story that concerns me as both a runner and someone working in exercise and physical activity.

If fear prevents women from exercising outdoors, the consequences extend beyond running. Physical activity contributes to health, well-being, stress management and social connection. For many people, running is also one of the most accessible and affordable forms of exercise.

So what do we do while authorities investigate these cases and communities work to improve safety?

I don't think the answer should be to stop running.

Perhaps, for now, it is about changing the setting rather than abandoning the activity.

Run with a club or a trusted group rather than alone. Use an athletics track or stadium with other people and appropriate security. Where available, use well-managed community, university or school facilities. For those who have access to them, treadmills, indoor cycling, swimming, strength training and group exercise classes can help maintain fitness while avoiding routes that currently feel unsafe.

Running clubs can also play an important role by creating additional organised sessions and ensuring that runners look out for one another. These are sensible temporary measures. But they cannot become a permanent solution. Because there is something uncomfortable about continually telling women how to make themselves safer.

Women already make countless calculations about their safety: where they walk, when they travel, where they park and whether they should be alone. We should not reach a point where women also have to ask whether they are allowed to run safely on the road.

The responsibility for safer public spaces cannot rest with women alone.

There is a role for law enforcement, municipalities, communities and running organisations. Lighting, surveillance, visible policing, safer pedestrian routes and effective emergency-response systems all matter. The Commission for Gender Equality has called for safety audits of affected areas, including attention to lighting, surveillance, transport points and poorly monitored spaces.

Men also have an important role in creating safer communities, including challenging inappropriate behaviour and contributing to broader efforts to prevent violence against women. But perhaps we should also resist letting fear take away something women have every right to enjoy.

I think about what running gives us: the rhythm of our feet, the conversation with a friend, the quiet of an early morning and the satisfaction of completing a difficult run.

For now, some women may choose to change their routes, run in groups, or move their training indoors. Those are reasonable choices. But they should remain choices, not restrictions imposed by fear.

Elizabeth Moselakgomo should not be remembered simply as a woman who went out for a run and never came home. She was a runner, a mother, a daughter, a friend and a member of a community.

Her death has reminded us of something that should never have needed reminding: women deserve to feel safe while simply living their lives.

So perhaps our response should be simple.

We will keep moving. We will look after one another. We may change the route for now, but we will not give up the right to run. Because the road should not belong to fear. It belongs to all of us.

* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or post.co.za