Freddy Mahugu is the founder of the Wynnefield Track Club, a running group that meets every day of the week to run early in the morning on the Schuylkill River Trail. Mahugu is a certified USA track and field coach from Kenya who ran his first marathon in 2015 in Philadelphia. He runs as a form of positive meditation and has been coaching for several years both locally in Philly as well as globally. I spoke with Mahugu over Zoom about his experience with running safety on the SRT over the years, as he was preparing to compete in the Berlin Marathon.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What is it about the WTC that sets it apart from other groups in Philadelphia?
I love the Philadelphia running community, and I love to support everyone, so you’ll see me certainly at every event that I can make, and every group run I can make. I love that about the community, and that’s kind of the culture I love to foster. We’re just one family. But one thing I think that sets us apart, is we just back up. There’s a level of support that we have for one another. I mean, we were the only club that runs every day, every day we have a group run. So, I don’t think I’ve seen that anywhere. So that’s kind of like fills you, the camaraderie and the support that we have for each other, and we do everything together, not just running. We’re fully involved with each other outside of running, in our day-to-day lives, and we have love and support each other and see each other grow in all aspects. So I think if anyone came for one run, they’ll kind of see what I’m talking about.
How has your or the WTC’s approach to safety while running changed over the years on the SRT if at all?
Safety, you know, there’s always been an issue as long as I’ve been running. You know, more clear around the Schuylkill River Trail, as safe as you may feel, sometimes, there’s always something that happens that kind of, you know, just makes you more conscious about the running on the trail. So, I always say, like, as much as I get out there- I’m an early runner. I run super early at the club, we run at 5:30 am every morning. Weekdays, six o’clock on Saturdays, seven on Sundays. But personally, I sometimes get out ahead before the group run as early as, like, 4 am in the morning. So, I’m like, literally one of the only ones out there, if not for a handful of people. So, safety is always on my mind when I’m out there. So, I think over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever kind of like let my guard down when it comes to safety when I’m out there. I like to meditate, hold positive meditation, but at the same time, I have to be aware, because I’m aware of different things that have happened over the years to others and even people on the trail.
How does the WTC ensure the safety of all group members with such a wide range of pacing while on the SRT?
We literally have all levels of runners, even walkers. So, it’s a full gamut. So, we definitely have an inclusive community in terms of, you know, making sure you’re not alone. So normally, you’ll pair up with and have a group of people that are either walking with you or running at your pace, or not everyone’s at any distance. So, you know, may have a, you know, 16-mile route planned out for the group, but there’ll be different points where you can break out the run shorter. And normally, before the run, you’ll pair up and kind of find out, okay, who’s running what and around what pays. So that way you’re not running alone. So, you know, it’s always important just to make sure no one’s, kind of in no man’s land, so to speak, and with no one around, to kind of like, sit back or make sure everyone’s returning So, and we always like, stick around too. So, make sure everyone gets back safely. So that’s the runner that may finish up early. We’ll kind of stick around and wait till others get back. Make sure everyone’s good, nice, that’s smart.
To what degree does the city have a responsibility to make sure that the trail is safe for public use?
You know, I think, you know, I think there’s definitely a big responsibility there, because, you know, you want people to use, you know, utilize the beautiful public space that we have. I think we’re very lucky in the City of Philadelphia, to have the Schuylkill River Trail, you know, the biggest urban trail in the country, so you can take it all the way down. So, we’re extremely fortunate to have the cool River Trail, Fairmount Park, and all these with control, all these places where you can get out and get exercise right in the city. So, I think it’s important to make sure that people feel safe. You know, if you’re not if you don’t feel safe getting out there, you can’t, you know, not only exercise and take care of your mental and physical health. You know, it’s, I think it’s a big responsibility there and hurting all the things that have happened over the years. And you know, when I get out there sometimes, you know, we say, like, I wish there was more, more things out there, more things put in place to make it a little bit more safer so people can feel comfortable.
What sorts of improvements would you like to see from the City regarding the SRT?
From, you know, Girard Avenue bridge all the way down to Strawberry Mansion along that section, it’s the high-traffic area. So, I mean, my biggest thing, especially like early especially now, letting leading into the fall and winter. Lighting is always an issue, you know, there sometimes, you know. And I always like to report to the city when I have to when the lights are out, saying, “Hey, you know, if these lights, they’re out between this section and this section”. But making sure the lighting is always working in the parking lot and Lloyd Hall, where most people park to start their run, and even the other parking lot to see along the trail, around that section between Girard to Strawberry Mansion, it’s often dark, so, you know, there’s no light there, so that, you know, always a safety concern.
One thing I wish we had along the trail was, you know, just even like telephone, you know, you see them along with the University City and, you know, the university community, or you have these emergency phones with that was set up along Kelly drive and, okay, just even the loop, making sure that everyone has access to a phone because not everyone runs with their cell phone. So just making sure there’s, you know, these telephones and signage and lighting to make sure it’s safe.
And one of the biggest things, I think too, is this patrolling, especially early morning when it’s dark or late, you know, evenings when it’s dark and you see it, you know, always say, I would say, would do what they do. University City and the college communities, making sure we have a similar type of patrolling along the trail, where you have maybe somebody on their bike on each side of the trail, you know, going around, making sure it was okay. Sometimes, you know, I’ve seen, you know, one of my friends was assaulted. And, you know, years ago, luckily, he was okay. But you know, certainly back at him. He never runs alone as a result. And then all of us, you know that could be any one of us. You know, it’s a good friend of ours, so it just kind of puts that in the back of your mind. And you know, my friends are running along the trail. And you know, sometimes you see it’ll be the police coming there. And you know, dead bodies identified myself. One afternoon I was going right actually by the Girard Bridge and the[re was a] body pulled out of the river right there. So, you see all these things. And for me, lighting, patrolling, emergency telephone along the trail, proper signage, and, also with the bicyclists; sometimes they can get congested. [There should be] a better way for runners, walkers, [and] bicyclists, to kind of navigate the trail there. So, everyone has had, you know, a safe lane to travel. So those are some of the things I think, that, you know, the city can do to make it a little bit more safer out there, for the runners and avoid these incidents from happening. You have runners to get assaulted on the trail. You know, cars broken into a long back trail there the second you’re referring to a number of things. You know, bicyclists getting pushed over. There’s so many things that just got to be aware of. And I think it was more security out there and telephones and things of that nature to make it a lot more safer.
If you’re comfortable, could you expand on the mental effect that returning to the location of an incident has on your training?
Absolutely. I mean it, you know, and remember, that was an afternoon sometimes I do a two a day. It was my afternoon run. It was like a little 30-minute takeoff recovery run. So I was in a very relaxed state, you know, feeling great. It was a beautiful day. And just to come across that, it was very alarming. And, you know, just mentally it, you know, really, it puts you in a bad space. Just knowing that you know you could lose your life, potentially coming down on this trail. Much for what happened to that particular incident, but you know, just knowing that things happen where you can get assaulted, some people passing away and coming across that. So, it definitely affects you. The next time you come out and you know, just always have to be on alarm, basically just making sure you’re aware of your surroundings. Definitely something you don’t forget. Of course, you know from your experience, the kind of like place that you could feel
safe around. You know, you’re running by the Schuylkill River Trail. It’s a beautiful trail of Philly and to come across that- a dead body. It’s definitely something that, you know, kind of make me kind of stop riding the trail and really think about, okay, you really have to be careful out here. So, I always had to tell people just to be aware. Everyone in the club, I, you know, leave at the club. Always say, hey, always be aware. Always run with somebody. Don’t run with music. You know, make sure you’re aware. You can hear what’s going on, all these things to make sure that you’re, you know, you’re aware. And you can, you know, protect yourself or protect somebody
else in the event that anything’s occurring. So, you know, it’s very dramatic if you’re in saying something like that. So, you know, just to think that somebody’s, you know, relative, son, potentially, you know, husband, father, it was a very, very tough thing to see.
Do you have any final thoughts or comments you’d like to share?
Hopefully, that could, you know, bring even more awareness. You know, I think everyone’s kind of aware of what happens, but what’s being done about it. So, I love the fact that they’re looking to be a loose and focused and come up with something hopefully that could, you know, spark some pain and implement some important safety measures that will benefit the Philadelphia running community. And you know visitors, you know people you know pick me up all the time saying, hey, somebody in town. I know you guys run every day. I’m going to send them your way. So definitely think about that as well. Visitors coming in, you know, for the first time, the local community, vehicle to make sure it’s a safe place that people can get out there and enjoy the beautiful city of Philadelphia. I really hope that you know that kind of voices the need for those types of safety measures.
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