I go walking and biking all the time by myself. I’ve taken full advantage of the Triangle area’s greenway and park system since I got back here three years ago. I’ve also taken advantage of the area’s relative safety — going out alone and thinking little about it, convinced that I’ll be just fine in one of the country’s safest areas.

The murder of Nancy Cooper has me thinking a little differently.

Though there is speculation about the killer, Cary police have named no one as a suspect. And although they said her death is an isolated incident and Cary residents are safe, Cooper’s death still pushes the safety of female walkers and runners to the forefront.

Cooper was an avid jogger and often trained for various marathons on the paths around her Lochmere subdivision.

Her husband told police that the day she disappeared she went out on an early-morning jog.

So have female joggers thought twice about their own running habits in recent days? What do they do to make themselves feel safe?

Walker Jodi Barnes keeps to sidewalks on well-traveled streets. She walked all over Apex, where she has lived for the last seven years and said that she never felt unsafe.

“I wouldn’t start out at 10 p.m. at night,” she said, though she added that it didn’t bother her if it became dusk while she was walking.

She said that even with the Cooper case she still feels very safe in the community and feels that it is one of the safest areas she has ever lived in.

Norma Lloyd lives just up the street from Cooper’s home in the Lochmere subdivision. She runs the same trails that Cooper used to and knew Cooper in passing.

Cooper’s death has definitely affected her running schedule. Now when she runs she’ll now leave an explanation of the route she’s taking.

She said she still feels safe running but has always taken precautions like wearing an ID tag with her name and phone number on her shoe and keeping her cell phone with her when she runs.

“I’ve been running like 30 years,” Lloyd said.

Officer Brian Austin with the Cary Police Department provided these basic tips for women out walking and running.

His first tip is to not go out alone, to take a buddy if you can. But if women do walk or run alone he advises that they stick to populated areas and stay aware of their surroundings by not wearing iPods or other distracting devices.

“The biggest thing is to keep your head up,” he said.