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City Councilor Forms Esplanade Running Club To Keep Joggers Safe

BOSTON (CBS) – A city councilor has started up a running club to keep joggers safe on the Esplanade.

The initiative comes after a series of violent attacks in the area with the most recent incident last month.

"We'll be there every Tuesday and Thusday. We'll do a five-mile loop. We'll be doing that all the way until the Boston Marathon," Councilor Michael Ross told WBZ-TV Thursday, just hours before the club's first-ever run.

The Esplanade Running Club will meet at Charles Circle by the CVS on Beacon Hill at 5:45 p.m.

Runners will get free reflective gear from New Balance and will have the option to go into a fast group or a fun group.

Just last month, a 31-year old woman was jogging on the Esplanade when a group of men surrounded her.

The victim told police she was punched in the head twice before she escaped.

Authorities are also still searching for a man wanted for several sexual assualts in the park since 2007.

The unsolved crimes have kept several runners out of the park at night, but for some, that means a winter with less training.

"I always tried to run in the day," said Emily Rosenberg, a Berklee College student.

"When it was daylight savings, I was so mad because I couldn't go after my classes anymore."

"It makes you become very aware of who's around you and what you're doing when you're running out here," said Andrea Slote, who regularly runs around the Esplanade.

WBZ-TV's Alana Gomez reports

Ross said the club now gives people an alternative.

"I've always said that people make parks safer," said Ross.

"They won't have to run alone."

WBZ-TV's Alana Gomez contributed to this report.

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