Athens runner Catherine Shinholser had considered the popular trails near the University of Georgia’s intramural fields to be among the safest routes in town.
It’s a spot where she hadn’t thought twice about going for a run, something she does to find peace, to push herself and as an act of celebration.
But right now, she said, “I just can’t imagine feeling peaceful at the intramural fields.”
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student, went for a morning run there on Feb. 22 and didn’t return as expected. Her friend called police, who found her unresponsive body about 30 minutes later in the woods. The next day, police charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a man authorities said she didn’t know, with her killing. The UGA police chief characterized it as “a crime of opportunity.”
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
The shocking violence has prompted an outpouring of grief and frustration from women runners in Athens, across Georgia and the nation. Riley, they said, took the safety precautions drilled into women. She ran in daylight on a well-traveled trail. She told a friend where she was going and when she’d be back. She was killed.
“Where does it end?” asked Shinholser, 37, co-owner of Fleet Feet Athens, a running store near campus. “We are heartbroken. We are angry. We are emotional.”
But runners also are resolute.
“We are not going to let the actions of this one person, who woke up with terrible intentions,... take running away from us,” she said. “You cannot take running away from us.”
Riley ran track and cross-country at River Ridge High School in her hometown of Woodstock. She kept running once in college, where she first enrolled at UGA and then at Augusta University’s nursing program in Athens.
In October, Riley and a friend clasped hands as they crossed the finish line at the AthHalf Half Marathon in Athens. In photos, Riley is smiling broadly with a medal around her neck. Her self-deprecating Instagram caption simply says: “worst parade ever!”
Athens is a running town, a place where students and residents hit the trails and pavement in search of solace and joy. In March alone, at least a half-dozen 5K races are planned. Most days, a runner can join a group run through the shoe and gear shop Athens Running Co., local and college clubs, or Shinholser’s running store. Packs of runners, grinning from endorphins, take frequent pictures in front of Fleet Feet’s bright blue door.
But a heaviness has settled over the running community the past week, said Tyra Byers, one of the leaders of Athens Road Runners. The 415-member club has hosted runs on the same woodsy trails behind Lake Herrick where Riley was found. Byers, 50, has run there too. One would be hard-pressed to find a runner in Athens who hasn’t, she said.
“You never feel alone even though you’re in a place where you can feel like you’re part of a more natural environment,” she said. “It was not like she was running in the wilderness.”
Next year’s Classic City Marathon, which winds through the historic downtown and neighborhoods, will dedicate the mile closest to Lake Herrick to Riley’s memory, Byers said. She hopes runners return to those trails.
“I think it will be hard to run there and not think of her,” Byers said.
Credit: Sandra Macedo
Credit: Sandra Macedo
Sandra Macedo, 28, who grew up in Gainesville, played soccer at the intramural fields and fell in love with running during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she learned about Riley and where the attack occurred, she felt a certain kinship. She kept seeing one specific running photo shared online of the young woman, wearing a race bib, doing something that she loved.
Macedo and her dog, Ryder, a protective Dalmatian, took a run in her honor.
“I know she didn’t leave to go run that day thinking, ‘I’m not going to come home,’” said Macedo.
She’s upset that while a family mourns, some have politicized Riley’s death by focusing on the immigration status of her alleged killer. Ibarra is a Venezuelan citizen who authorities say illegally entered the United States. Commentators have drawn comparisons to the 2018 death of Mollie Tibbetts, an Iowa college student who disappeared while on a run. Her killer also came to the country illegally.
Macedo, a Mexican American, was a first-generation college student. She said she’s upset not just by Riley’s death but also because of a recent deadly shooting near the downtown Atlanta campus of her alma mater, Georgia State University.
“(It) was a hard day because (at) two communities of mine, running and GSU, now it feels like I’m not safe at either one,” she said.
Credit: Jennifer Huffman
Credit: Jennifer Huffman
Jennifer Huffman, who lives near Augusta, runs for her physical and mental health. Those miles are moments when the 36-year-old mother can collect her thoughts “or sometimes not have to think” at all.
As she ran this month’s Augusta Half Marathon, her thoughts turned to Riley.
“I just thought, ‘She will never get to run again. She’ll never get to be 36. She’ll never get to have kids,’” said Huffman.
She’s frustrated that women runners take so many precautions, down to avoiding ponytails so they don’t get snatched by their hair, and are still in danger. She practices the same kind of constant vigilance when she’s on the job as a real estate agent, and she wonders if she needs to start carrying a gun while running.
“It just feels like we can’t do anything anymore without having to worry about our safety,” Huffman said.
Since August, Victoria Redmon VanLinden and dozens of Athens women have met at Fleet Feet for jogs with the group she started, Slow Girl Run Club. She’s met some of her best friends through the shared ritual.
Riley died the day of a Slow Girl’s regularly scheduled run. Redmon VanLinden, 28, deliberated what to do and ultimately decided the club should meet. Turnout was a bit lower than usual. Some women weren’t ready. Some were scared but still came; they were happy to run together in solidarity.
“What is it if we don’t show up for people who need solace?” said Redmon VanLinden. “No matter how long it takes for people to feel comfortable, this space is going to be there.”
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
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