Cracking first reply haha... carry a weapon!

Seriously get a grip. Talk about first world problems. You live in America, it’s massive! There is literally so much land to run on, why put yourself in harms way?

If it was something that really mattered I’d say yeah do something about it, but let’s face it, it’s just a running route. It’s fun to explore, the OP could find a new route, it may even be better.