Women's running groups in Worcestershire run together to 'feel safe' through the darker nights
It's as we enter the winter months
As the darker nights start to arrive, there's a growing worry from women runners in Worcestershire about how safe they feel when they are out in the evening.
Research from the University of Manchester earlier this year found over two-thirds of women who run experience some form of abuse.
Half of the women surveyed say that form of abuse was verbal, with 13 saying they had been physically assaulted while out running.
Carly Barnes is the founder of the Run the Shire group in Worcester, and she says running with a group helps, but she has experienced it herself when she hasn't felt safe when out on her own.
"When you are running solo as a woman, you do find yourself having to make sure someone knows where you're going," she said.
"There have been times where I've been scared, I've had to phone my husband and just chat with him on the phone because I'm not sure if someone is following me, and it's a sick pit of your stomach kind of feeling you get.
"This time of year you tend to run in well lit areas, you don't go down dark alleyways which might be a shorter way home, but by just having the group around you, it does make you feel safer."
Personal trainer Kelly Tidbury set-up the Raggy Doll Runners club in Droitwich to give people an opportunity to give running a try.
She says they alter the places they go round in the winter, and having other runners around can make it easier for people to feel more comfortable.
"We take out park routes, canal routes, it'll always be runs in the streetlight from now on until it does get lighter," she told us.
"With our group, you always seem to get someone who is a similar pace, which means you don't end up by yourself."
West Mercia Police and Crime commissioner John Campion says it is vital for communities to feel protected through the winter months.
"As the darker nights draw in, we absolutely need to make sure that we are keeping ourselves safe," he said.
"Looking out for our neighbours and each other is absolutely the heart of the ethos that makes up the communities in West Mercia, and we are committed to doing that."