VanPelt also advised taking extra precautions while running at night. He suggested wearing reflective gear or a light. 

“I know it looks weird at first, but it can actually be useful, especially if you’re running on the road and there’s cars,” VanPelt said. “You wanna be seen when you’re out running.”

Paul Salach, vice president of operations, said the club sticks to well-lit or safer areas while running at night.

“If it’s dark out we’ll avoid going to River Trail and downtown Lansing,” Salach, an applied engineering sciences senior, said.

Being mindful of nearby cars is also important to running safety, he said. It’s important that runners keep their eyes on the road and look for cars.

The club always runs on the left side of the road to have a better view of oncoming traffic.

“If you’re coming up over a hill you can usually hear the cars before they see you," Salach said. "It’s good to be on that side of the road so you can get off to the side if you need to.”

Runners who use music players or other technology should still pay attention to their surroundings to avoid accidents.

Runners should keep headphone volume low enough to hear traffic, trains and people around them, MSU police Captain Doug Monette said.

“When you’re out running one of the most important things is to use all your senses, and that includes hearing,” Monette said. “Unfortunately sometimes people have their music turned up so loud that they can’t hear their surroundings."

For students running on campus, the emergency phones can be used. The green lights above the phones have "one-touch 911-calling,” according to the Infrastructure Planning and Facilities website. 

Monette said they can also call any campus phone number.

One of the most important things to remember while running alone is to tell someone where you’re going and how long it should take you before you leave, Monette said. He also advised runners to bring a phone and ID in case of emergencies.

“I would encourage people to carry ID with them or even a cell phone that way if there’s any kind of situation and they need to contact someone, let’s say they turn their ankle while they were running, they could call someone," Monette said.

Monette said running adds to a healthy lifestyle, but precaution is always needed. 

“Running is a great thing and it’s safe to do, especially here on campus, but if you look at the worst-case scenarios those are the kind of things you want to look at,” he said.