Runner shares horror encounter with a strange man who stalked her on a public trail

An Australian playwright and amateur runner has shared her terrifying experience while out for a jog on a public path in the middle of the day.

Lucy Holz had her headphones on and was pacing the pavement when she passed a strange man who gave her a ‘weird’ look.

He turned around to follow her and raced up to her to ask for a phone number, which she quickly declined, before he decided to continue in her direction just a few paces behind her. He wasn’t wearing activewear or running-appropriate attire.

‘I just had quite a scary experience on my run,’ Lucy stated in her TikTok video which has now been viewed 700,000 times.

Lucy Holz had her headphones on and was pacing the pavement when she passed a strange man who gave her a ‘weird’ look

‘I was just going for a run on a public trail, I’d just started, and I ran past this guy, and he looked at me a bit weird.

‘I didn’t think anything of it, then he overtakes me and stops right in front of me. He’s also not wearing running clothes at all, just regular street clothes.

‘As he runs past me, he looks at me again, and I think this is a little bit weird, I’m just going to keep an eye on him.

‘It’s the middle of the day, I’ve passed heaps of other people. He started walking right in front of me, so I overtake him again because I’m running.’

She explained that at this point he started running alongside her and asked for her number, which she quickly declined before racing on. 

‘He falls back, but I reached the part of my run where I’d usually turn around and come back because I don’t know the neighbourhood at all,’ she said.

She explained that at this point he started running alongside her and asked for her number, which she quickly declined before racing on

‘I obviously couldn’t turn around because of him, so I just kept running and now I don’t know where I am and I don’t want to go back that way.

‘It was really scary, and I’m so obviously not interested, I’m running and wearing headphones.

‘What a f***ing piece of s**t to come and do that, and ruin my run.’

In a follow up video Lucy explained that it was her boyfriend, who was nearby at the time, that came to her rescue by way of picking her up. 

‘It reminded me of a time where I was driving and this random motorcyclist started banging on the window, and it was very scary,’ she said.

‘I told my boyfriend about it, and he said “I wish I was there, I could have done something”.

‘And it made me realise, well it wouldn’t have happened if you were there.

‘A guy would not have banged on my window if there was another man in my car, a guy would not have harassed me in public if I was running next to a man.

‘There was another time where I got assaulted in the middle of the city at night, and fortunately I had a make friend nearby and I was able to escape to him.

‘It reminded me of a time where I was driving and this random motorcyclist started banging on the window, and it was very scary,’ she said

‘I’ve been thinking about all these moments in my life where I’d just happened to have a safe man near me, but what if I didn’t?’

Plenty of Lucy’s followers shared horror stories of their own in the comments and encouraged her to speak with police.

‘Call the police! Something similar happened to me… they charged him and he’s being sentenced this month,’ one woman replied.

‘Anybody that makes excuses or tries to discredit you or your feelings is not worth your time. Your feelings and emotions are definitely valid,’ said another.

A third added: ‘Ugh, I’m so sorry. What a horrible experience. Hope you feel better soon’.