MILWAUKEE — Abby Ludwig is no stranger to running early in the morning. 

“Just feeling at 5 a.m., if you’ve run already, you’ve done something, and you’re already feeling accomplished after that,” she said as she prepared for a 5:15 a.m. run Thursday, which started at Colectivo Coffee on Milwaukee’s lakefront. 

Ludwig said she runs about four times a week, and most times, she’s with the Milwaukee Running Group OMG.

“Sometimes I do run by myself, but I do come about three times,” Ludwig said. “So, I would say, a majority with the group.”

She’s been running with the group for about six months. She said she likes the friendship aspect — and the safety in numbers. 

“I feel very safe. I’ve never thought that something unsafe to me was going to happen,” Ludwig said. “Honestly, I don’t think about safety a lot when I’m running, and I think that’s because I’m not afraid.”

But now, after tragedy in Memphis, Tennessee, safety is on the forefront of every runner’s mind. 

Claudia Dominguez is the organizer of the Thursday morning OMG run along the lakefront. She addressed the Memphis tragedy with her runners before they took off. 

“There was a runner, her name is Eliza, and she got killed,” Dominguez explained. “She got abducted out running in Memphis, Tennessee. Not in Milwaukee, no. Not in Milwaukee.”

Eliza Fletcher, an avid member of a running community, was out for a run last Friday morning when Memphis police said she was kidnapped and killed around 4:20 a.m.

Dominguez said since the news broke, she’s received so many calls from friends and loved ones. 

“A lot of people know I run in the mornings, so they would question me,” Dominguez said. “They were saying, ‘just watch out, make sure you share your location, make sure you stay safe,’ and I always mention to people, it can happen to anybody. It was unfortunate that it happened to a runner, but we do have to be a little more aware.”

Aside from sharing location with friends or family, Dominguez said there are some other important safety tips for both men and women to keep in mind when running in a group or alone. 

She said to wear reflective clothing, have a light and making sure you’re not completely tuning out your surroundings with headphones.  

Despite the tragedy, she said she doesn’t want people to be scared to get out and run. 

“We have to keep moving,” Dominguez said. “We cannot let people dictate how we run or why we run or what time we run. It’s safe to run in the morning, especially with the group. You have to be aware, obviously.”