Photo from Chelsea’s Light’s Facebook album

In light of recent and unfortunate news events, and the fact that I have two girls who are both avid runners, I feel compelled to remind young female athletes to take certain precautions when exercising outdoors. Some of you may have been following the case of murdered teenager Chelsea King, and if so then you’re aware that she went missing while out running alone in her neighborhood.

When I first read about her disappearance several weeks ago my heart sank, and the longer she remained missing the more my heart ached for her and her family. It wasn’t too much longer before the devastating news broke that she had in fact been abducted and murdered; it was news that I think most people were expecting, but certainly not prepared to accept. And the sad truth is that even though Chelsea’s offender was caught, there is nothing we can do to stop other vile thugs from preying on our young girls.

What we can do though is deter predators by insisting that our girls always run outdoors with at least one other person. If this isn’t possible however, then maybe a different activity needs to be pursued, or maybe running indoors on a treadmill will suffice. I’m guilty myself, of often running outdoors alone, and not just alone, but also during the early hours of the morning when it’s still dark. But I realize now that I’ve gained a sense of complacency that needs to be addressed, as even though I live in what’s believed to be a “safe” area, one can never be too sure what’s lurking around the corner.

I wish more than anything that what happened to Chelsea could be reversed, and that she could be safely returned to her home and family. But what’s done is done, and everyone must move on, taking comfort in the fact that she is now in God’s hands and in a better place. And while we can’t change the past, we can certainly do our best to keep what happened to Chelsea from happening to our own girls.

Girls, find an exercise buddy!