Life Leisure backs ‘Let’s Lift the Curfew’ helping women feel safer getting active after dark

By Life Leisure | 10 December 2025 | TAGS: This Girl Can, Let's Lift The Curfew

Life Leisure is getting behind Let’s Lift the Curfew, a national movement from This Girl Can, calling attention to the unwanted curfew many women feel in the darker months, when safety concerns limit their freedom to get active outdoors.

In support, Life Leisure is hosting 5k run clubs at locations around Stockport between November and March.

These runs aren’t just about the exercise; they’re about solidarity and highlighting the barriers many women face when exercising outside after dark.

Launched in 2023, Let’s Lift the Curfew has grown into a national movement with an annual campaign moment when the clocks go back.

Now in its third year, the campaign seeks to amplify women’s voices, promote allyship and raise awareness of the issues that prevent many women from being active outdoors during the autumn and winter, from poor lighting to fear of harassment.

Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England and This Girl Can, said:

“Every winter, many women are forced to adjust their routines, avoid certain routes or stop being active outdoors altogether – not because they want to, but because they don’t feel safe.

"It is a societal failure that women changing their behaviour is normalised, rather than changing the behaviour of those that make them feel unsafe.

"Let’s Lift the Curfew is about calling that out and demanding better.

“This year’s movement is powered by allies and communities everywhere who refuse to accept that women’s freedom should shrink when the sun goes down and the clocks go back.

"Together, we’re showing what real change looks like – one street, one run, one act of solidarity at a time.”

Participants are being encouraged to log their activity on Strava, label it ‘Let’s Lift the Curfew’, and share it on social media using the hashtag #LetsLiftTheCurfew, tagging @thisgirlcanuk and @lifeleisureuk to help spread the message far and wide.

Event details:

• What: 5k outdoor run
• When and where:
  • 1st Tuesday of each month at Life Leisure Hazel Grove, SK7 5JW
  • 3rd Wednesday of each month at Stockport Sports Village, SK6 1QX
  • 2nd Tuesday of each month at Life Leisure Grand Central, SK1 3TA
• Who: Anyone aged 16+ is welcome. The sessions are included in membership packages for members (please check your package access), and are also open to non-members on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• Contact/more info: Book as a class via the app or website: https://www.lifeleisure.net/

Everyone aged 16+ is welcome, including men who want to show their support. It doesn’t matter if this will be your first 5k run. There’s no better place to feel safe and supported.

Sarah Potter, Fitness and Group Exercise Operations Manager at Life Leisure said:

“Every woman deserves to feel safe, supported and confident when choosing to be active, whatever the time of day.

"By backing Let’s Lift the Curfew, we’re standing alongside the women in our community who face barriers that many others don’t have to think twice about.

"Our winter run clubs are about more than exercise; they’re about visibility, solidarity and creating spaces where women feel empowered to move without fear.

"We hope this initiative sparks conversation, strengthens allyship and inspires real change across Stockport and beyond.”

Let’s Lift the Curfew is also a call to action.

Communities, organisations, and local authorities are urged to create lasting change—whether through education, promoting allyship, or making public spaces safer and more welcoming.

Life Leisure hopes to spark conversations and inspire real, practical steps to make shared spaces open and safe for everyone.

Photo (left to right): Frances Barnett and Sarah Potter at Life Leisure's first run club in partnership with Let’s Lift the Curfew.