On October 8, 2020, the Marathon Sports family of brands, celebrated New England specialty run retailers, announced a campaign to raise awareness on the harassment of women runners.
The #LetHerRun campaign was developed in reaction to recent social media status updates from local female runners who had recently experienced harassment while running all over New England.
Amanda Perri, Digital Marketing Manager at Marathon Sports explains “Through our research, we found that most information out there only talks about what women SHOULD do, where and when they should run, items they should carry, and what to wear to stay safe on runs. Every single day across the world thousands of female runners are harassed out of the blue, whether that’s in the form of being cat-called, being followed, stalked, or even being attacked. It’s one of those “hush-hush” topics that people are afraid to talk about, but now we are bringing this topic to the forefront where it deserves to be. Women should feel comfortable and safe running, running is meant to be enjoyable, not complicated, and certainly not scary. We’ve already seen such a great response from bringing the conversation to the table. Our hope is that other running specialty retailers around the world can bring awareness to the topic in their local communities.”
In order to raise funds and awareness for the safety of female runners, Marathon Sports, Sound Runner, and Runner’s Alley are doing the following:
- Collecting and sharing anonymous experiences of local women who have experienced harassment while running
- A virtual #LetHerRun Event will be held at 9:00 AM on November 1st, 2020. 100% of the net proceeds will be donated directly to homes for women who have been affected by domestic violence all across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
- Partner with Brooks Running to donate over 50 pieces of clothing to the above homes.
About Marathon Sports: Founded in 1975 in a renovated first-floor apartment near Harvard Square, Marathon Sports 404 family of brands has grown to 18 retail locations over three states, bringing our unparalleled customer experience to runners, walkers, and fitness enthusiasts across New England.
