Run safer in Utrecht.
Join our community today!
Help Us Make Utrecht the Safest City for Female Runners
***Sign Up Now for a Chance to Win Free Running Shoes (thanks Run2Day Utrecht!)***
We are mobilizing local runners and key stakeholders to build a better understanding of the experiences and safety challenges women face while running in Utrecht. Through data collection, community engagement, and advocacy, we will identify safety concerns, raise awareness, collaborate on solutions, and work towards safer, more inclusive public running spaces. From April to June, we’ll be collecting initial data. Later this spring, we’ll kick off our first trainings, events, and community runs. By autumn, we’ll share our first recommendations to improve running safety in Utrecht, with ongoing action through the end of the year.
Do you run in Utrecht? Or would you like to – if it felt safer? Join our initiative today.
By participating, be part of a movement for safer running and stay tuned for perks from local supporters.
HOW IT WORKS
-
Step 1: Sign up
Women and girls (16+), take our short intake questionnaire. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
Tell us more about you, your running habits and safety concerns so we can better understand how to improve running in Utrecht.
-
Step 2: Connect your data (optional)
Upon signing up, you’ll receive an invite to join our running group on Sport Data Valley. Sync your wearable device (Polar, Garmin, FitBit, Apple Health, or Strava) in a few simple steps to contribute real-time insights on running behavior. All data is anonymous and owned by you. You can opt out at any time.
Not using a wearable? No problem! You can still join us by participating in our weekly surveys, run audits, workshops and events.
-
Step 3: Share insights
Each week, for an initial period of 6 weeks, we’ll send you a short survey to reflect on your running experiences—what feels safe, what doesn’t, and how we can improve it.
Your feedback will directly shape our safety recommendations and help us map the running conditions in Utrecht.
-
Step 4: Stay engaged
Join our community events, workshops & running audits!
We’ll organize meet-ups to assess local routes, map issue areas, connect with other runners, and advocate for safer running spaces in Utrecht.
Stay updated through our email updates, follow us on Instagram, and join the conversation via #RunHerWayUtrecht.
WHAT IT DELIVERS
-
Data-backed safety recommendations
We are compiling real insights from local female runners to create a comprehensive and actionable safety report for policymakers, urban planners, and other community stakeholders.
-
Interactive urban atlas mapping safe routes
We will highlight the safest running routes in Utrecht based on community input. By mapping high-risk areas and gathering route feedback, this tool will help runners make informed choices while also guiding local leaders in prioritizing safety improvements where they are needed most.
-
Strengthened community engagement on running safety
Utrecht has a vibrant running community. Through workshops, stakeholder discussions, focus groups, and running audits, we’re expanding the conversation on safety by bringing together runners, local organizations, city officials, and businesses. Our goal is to encourage cross-sector collaboration, ensuring that running safety becomes a shared priority across the entire community.
-
A scalable model for safer running
Our work in Utrecht is just the beginning. This pilot project will serve as a blueprint for running safety that can be adapted to other cities. By testing, refining, and optimizing our approach, we are creating a scalable model that will support global efforts to make running safer for all women and girls.
Partner with us
Women and girls deserve to run without fear. But 92% of women globally don’t feel safe running, 2 in 3 women have experienced harassment while running – and in the Netherlands, 73% say their running environments could be safer.
We’re pioneering a data-driven, community-powered approach to make running safer. By partnering with us, you can help transform local running spaces, drive real change, and strengthen the running community in Utrecht and beyond.
Running Clubs – Help us create a safer running community by organizing or participating in group route audits, recruiting female runners to our project, and sharing your safety insights at our events and workshops.
Brands & Businesses – Align with a movement that matters. Offer incentives for runner participation and support our awareness campaigns and events, while demonstrating your commitment to community impact and the empowerment of women and girls.
Local Government, Law Enforcement & Urban Planners – Engage with us and use our data-driven insights to implement infrastructure improvements, enhance public safety measures, and support inclusive urban planning.
Advocacy & Community Groups – Work with us to promote education, awareness, community action, and policy changes that improve safety for female runners.
Help us spread the word
We need your help to reach as many runners and stakeholders as possible!
✔ Share our initiative on social media using #RunHerWayUtrecht.
✔ Talk to your running club, local businesses, or policymakers about getting involved.
✔ Use our digital media toolkit to share pre-made posts, flyers, and visuals.
Click below to download our media assets.
FAQs
-
This initiative is designed to make local running safer for women and girls by gathering real data from female runners, engaging the community, and working with local stakeholders to implement solutions.
-
Utrecht is our home base and a city with a strong running community, yet 70% of women we surveyed in the Netherlands say running isn’t safe enough. By starting here, we can leverage local networks and urban innovation to pilot solutions that improve running safety. Our goal is to create a scalable blueprint for safer running cities everywhere.
-
The project is led by Run Her Way, in collaboration with The Gendered City (urban placemaking and planning), Sport Data Valley (technology infrastructure), and the Mulier Instituut (research advice). We are also mobilizing a range of local running clubs, community groups and stakeholders to be involved in improving safety for female runners.
-
While our focus is on the addressing the unique and well documented safety concerns of women and girls (16+), we welcome all allies—including male runners, community leaders, and organizations—who want to support safer public running spaces.
-
✔ Step 1: Fill out our intake questionnaire to tell us about your running habits and safety concerns.
✔ Step 2: If applicable, indicate additional ways you’d like to be involved.
✔ Step 3: You’ll receive a welcome email with next steps and access to our community. -
Global research and our own survey conducted in the Netherlands confirm that many women and girls feel unsafe while running due to a range of factors, though individual experiences vary.
To understand the reality, talk to the women and girls in your life—and encourage them to get involved in this initiative.
-
Sport Data Valley is the national data infrastructure for sport, exercise, and health in the Netherlands, serving research, education, and practical applications. It provides a secure, privacy-compliant platform where users—including researchers, coaches, athletes, and policymakers—can collect, store, analyze, and share sports and movement data. The platform integrates with popular apps and devices, offering personalized dashboards and scientific analysis tools to enhance performance, prevent injuries, and promote a healthier lifestyle.
We are using Sport Data Valley to build a better understanding of local running data behavior, including time of day, duration, and route usage. This helps identify trends, improve running environments, and support community-based initiatives.
Your data remains secure and private—users retain full control over their information, and all data storage and processing comply with strict European privacy standards. More information is available on their website.
-
Once you complete the intake form, you’ll receive an invitation to join our running group on Sport Data Valley.
Follow the instructions in the email to create an account and connect your wearable device.
Not using a wearable? No problem! You can still participate through weekly surveys and event-based data collection.
-
The entire project will run until December 2025. We begin with an initial data collection period of 6–8 weeks, during which you’ll receive weekly surveys to share your running experiences, safety concerns, and insights. This data will help shape key project activities, including workshops, focus group discussions, and running audits.
We encourage you to stay engaged as the project evolves, but your level of involvement is entirely up to you. Whether you choose to participate for the full duration or just in specific activities, every contribution helps.
-
Partners can support this initiative by:
✔ Offering incentives & benefits to participating runners
✔ Hosting or sponsoring community runs, workshops and events
✔ Using project data to improve safety measures & urban planning
✔ Providing funding or resources to sustain the initiative -
The insights collected will be used to:
Advocate for safety improvements in Utrecht’s public spaces
Develop an Urban Atlas to map safer running routes
Provide data-driven recommendations to policymakers, planners, and law enforcement
-
Please reach out to our team at info@runherway.org with the subject line “Project Utrecht”. We would love to connect with you and answer any questions you may have.
-
No. If you have a fitness tracker, great! You can connect it to our system to share running insights and help us build a better understanding of local running behavior. But if you don’t, you can still participate by completing surveys and joining events.
