From Survivor to Thriver: 13.1 Miles for Change

I’ve never been what you’d call a “runner.” In fact, if you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have said running was something other people did like gazelles, or people who actually enjoy Lycra. I spent most of my life avoiding anything that made me feel exposed or out of control. So naturally, I decided the best way to challenge that… was to sign up for both a Hyrox event in January 2026 and my very first half marathon. (Go big or go home, right?)

I’m doing this as a survivor. I grew up in a world where the people who were meant to keep me safe failed me in the worst ways through abuse, exploitation, and being filmed as a child, not knowing where those images might still exist. That loss of safety shaped everything: years of severe anxiety, nervousness and fear in situations most people breeze through, and an Olympic-level ability to catastrophise even the smallest things.

So, registering for this event and writing these words has already felt like running a marathon in itself. My nerves and nausea are training harder than I am, constantly preparing worst-case scenarios (and they’re very creative). I’m absolutely terrified. And yet I’m doing it anyway. Step by step, sweaty mile by sweaty mile, I will try my best.

Justice wasn’t served for me and I still live with no one taking accountability. But I want to make sure other children never feel the powerlessness, silence, and fear I carried. That’s why I’m running: for children who deserve safety, for survivors who need services, for services to have the tools to recognise children hiding their pain and for a world where kids can be kids - safe, protected, and free.

✨ If you’re able, I’d love your support. Every donation, whether big enough to cover a whole training session or small enough to fuel me with a banana will help protect children, support survivors, and remind me (mid-run, when I’m questioning all my life choices) that I’m not alone in this. Together, we can make every step count. ❤️