Community 5-kilometre run and 2-mile walk on The Sands to raise awareness of women's safety when exercising outdoors after dark.
Lift The Curfew returns to The Sands in Scarborough on Wednesday 28 October, starting at 7:00 p.m. It's a run and walk that brings people together to talk about something most of us don't think about until the clocks go back: how women's routines change when the nights draw in.
The event is part of the national 'Let's Lift the Curfew' campaign, launched by This Girl Can in 2023. The name comes from the way many women feel forced to set a sort of curfew for themselves when exercising outdoors after dark. The numbers behind it are a good reason to pay attention: nearly three-quarters of women in the UK change their outdoor activity routines during winter, a habit that helps fuel a gender activity gap of around half a million fewer active women than men. More than half of women report feeling unsafe exercising outdoors alone after dark, compared to 33% of men, and 69% fear sexual harassment when doing so — up from 60% in 2023.
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That's the context the campaign is drawing attention to, and the movement asks wider society to acknowledge its part in making the outdoors safer for women. It's grown into a nationwide effort of women, community groups, sports clubs and allies; last year, more than 13,000 people took part in over 390 activities across the country. The Scarborough run is the local version of that, and it's open to everyone. You can choose between a 5-kilometre run or a 2-mile walk, so you can pick the distance that suits you. It starts at The Sands at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday 28 October.
