Vanderbilt student creates female running group in wake of Georgia nursing student’s killing

Kendall Ashman
·2 min read
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Chilling new details reveal how a nursing student on a Georgia campus was killed while on a run. According to arrest documents, the suspect, Jose Ibarra, used an unspecified object to cause blunt-force trauma.

In Nashville, female runners are now joining together and shining a light on the dangers of running alone.

“Running has definitely been my outlet,” Caroline Holland said.

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Holland is training for her first full marathon, saying, “Being a runner is very time-consuming. Sometimes it can feel like a very lonely process when you’re training for something like a marathon.”

Now, she can’t run without fear. This comes after a nursing student was killed on the University of Georgia campus while out on a run.

“She was near a campus. I’m told, ‘Oh, stay on Vanderbilt’s campus, go in the daylight, have your phone on you, have the open earphones,’ so it just made me realize how much you really can’t run alone as a girl, no matter how prepared you are,” Holland said.

Just days after this tragedy, Holland created her own female running group called Chicks with Kicks.

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“It’s a big female running group and the point of it is just to have a platform to send a text, ‘Hey, I’m going on a run tomorrow at 7 a.m. Who wants to join me?’” Holland said.

So far, dozens of girls have joined in on the idea, according to Holland: “I have 70 girls. I didn’t even know that there are this many girls who enjoyed running, honestly, on campus.”

She said it’s just one solution after recent incidents across the country.

Just weeks ago in Nashville, a man was arrested after allegedly attempting to rape a 25-year-old woman while running on a greenway in Germantown.

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Holland said she’s experienced her own terrifying moments.

“I’ve been chased before by homeless people. I’ve been followed by cars. There’s been numerous times where I’ve been on a run and I’ve had to call Ubers to get back home…I never feel like when I’m alone I can fully enjoy my run. I’m always so on guard,” Holland said.

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