Adidas study calls out the 'ridiculous' things women must do to feel safe while running

• Adidas research finds that 69% of women take precautions like wearing loose clothing while running.
• About half, 56%, of female runners have also received unwanted attention while running. 
• To highlight findings, Adidas also created a "The Ridiculous Run," YouTube video featuring runners.

Adidas has released new research documenting the lengths women go to in order to feel safe while running.

According to the study, about half of women fear being attacked while running outside. As a result, 69% of women surveyed have taken precautions such as wearing loose clothing or running with a partner they think can protect them. 

In addition, 56% of runners have received unwanted attention while running — from sexist comments to being honked at or followed, Adidas found. 

The study surveyed 9,000 runners — half women and half men — in seven countries and intends to highlight the many safety concerns of women while "calling for male education and allyship" to incite change. 

The latter is of significant importance to Adidas. The sportswear giant found that while 62% of men recognise the issues female runners face, only 18% believe the responsibility lies mostly with men to help women feel safer.

To highlight its findings, Adidas created "The Ridiculous Run" YouTube video, which features female runners running at night with cars and motorcycles escorting them for safety. The survey and "The Ridiculous Run" are part of Adidas' With Women We Run Initiative and partnership with White Ribbon. 

Both men and women picked up running as a hobby in droves during the pandemic. A 2021 study by RunRepeat found that 29% of current runners began running during Covid. A separate study from Nielsen also found that four in 10 people consider themselves runners, with 30% running at least once a week. 

That trend has largely benefited running brands like Hoka One One and Brooks Running. Brooks 2022 sales grew to a record $1.2 billion, the company reported in February. Hoka, owned by Deckers, saw sales grew 90% to $350 million in its latest quarter.