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# The runner and the stag
- URL: https://violet-wood.ghost.io/the-runner-and-the-stag/
- Published: 2026-09-11T21:24:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T21:24:13.000Z
- Author: Violet Wood
- Tags: Fitness and sport

Richmond Park is an ideal place to go running. It's large, scenic, hilly in parts, and almost all off-road, with many trail routes supporting a variety of runs. My favourite is the Tamsin Trail, over 7 miles in length, following the perimeter all the way round the Park. I generally start from Pembroke Lodge on the western side.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/6f/b56fc027-9372-4393-bd77-4704ea55b92b/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-21.26.44.png)

Richmond Park is also the venue of regular half marathons offered by race organisations such as RunThrough. I took part in the February 2025 event. The course is four laps of the northwestern sector. It's quite different from a half marathon run on road – harder, hillier, scenically more interesting.

And Richmond Park has its own very popular parkrun (one that I have not yet visited). As a 5K, it's almost exactly one quarter of the length of a half marathon, so not surprisingly the parkrun route is just one lap of the half marathon route. The event has taken place over 900 times, and generally attracts between 400 and 600 runners each week.

I would run in the Park much more often if I lived close by, but as I live 30 miles southwest of the Park, I am a rare visitor. That means it feels special each time.

On my most recent visit (last Thursday), I varied the distance by running a 10K in the southern half of the Park. I started on the Tamsin Trail then cut back through the middle, past the White Lodge and Pen Ponds. And that point, there was nothing unusual about the run.

And then I saw the stag. He was alone, by a copse of trees not far from Pembroke Lodge. He was a magnificent beast with an impressive set of antlers. I thought, This is a photographic opportunity not to be missed. So I gradually came closer. At first he took no notice. Maybe he was used to seeing humans in the Park. It was a little strange though as deer tend to be shy creatures.

When I was about 10 feet away, he looked up, and looked around. Actually he was giving me the eye. And then he decided that I was invading his personal space. He lowered his head and ran at me. I took an involuntary picture then retreated at speed behind the nearest tree. As he couldn't see me any more, he stopped and returned to grazing mode.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/6f/b56fc027-9372-4393-bd77-4704ea55b92b/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0582.jpeg)

My mind flashed back to the last time something like this happened. It was on a 30-mile walk through three counties in southwest England many years ago. My route took me through the middle of a field which was occupied by a herd of bulls. I walked towards them, expecting them just to divide like the waters of the Red Sea. (Which allowed the Israelites to walk through on dry ground, as recorded in the Book of Exodus.) And indeed they retreated – but only to ready themselves for a charge. There followed a stampede. They chased me all the way to the edge of the field and I escaped only by jumping over a hedge.

As a child, I had no sense of danger. Things have clearly not improved since then.

So: what is good advice to follow if you are confronted by a wild animal?

1. Be aware that animal behaviour can change suddenly. A stag is not normally aggressive – except in the rutting season, which happens in the autumn (hello, we are now in September).
2. Keep your distance. Maybe 150 feet away is a good observation platform. If you get too close, the stag may become excited or frightened and attack you in self-defence.
3. Avoid direct eye contact, which the stag may interpret as a challenge.
4. If the stag looks aggressive, do not run away as the stag is bound to chase you.
5. Retreat calmly, and avoid escalating the situation. In particular, do not shout, in the way that I shouted at the bulls years ago, which only made them more cross.
6. Ideally, position a solid object, such as a tree, between yourself and the stag.

I got most of these wrong on Thursday's visit. On balance I would rather not be gored to death by a stag, so I've done my research and I do not think I will repeat this close encounter.