As the weather warms up and more runners hit the streets, it’s important to keep your safety a priority. Kurt Sorys, a retired Omaha police officer who now works at 88 Tactical as a firearms and tactical instructor, said he sees several women running around Lake Zorinsky who could easily be targeted. He said they’re “in their own little world,” wearing headphones, looking intently at their phones and not paying attention to who is around them.

Ande Jorgenson, the co-owner of Red Dirt Running Company in Omaha, had a close call himself. “I was being dumb and running at midnight and three guys in a truck followed me,” he said.
“They pulled up slowly and I ran away into a field. It scared the crap out of me.”

Sorys and Jeff Hunter from 88 Tactical, which trains civilians and law enforcement and military personnel, teamed up with Jorgenson and Red Dirt Running Company on Monday night to provide a self-defense clinic for about 20 runners.
“We want you to avoid trouble by being aware of your surroundings, but someone may sneak up on you,” Hunter said. “Bottom line, it’s dirty fighting.”

Sorys said the first thing you need to do is “get in your head something could happen to you.”