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For an athlete like Kate Jayden, even the biggest challenge is like nothing.
Kate Jayden runs for the eating disorders charity Beat. She’s participated in 230 long-distance events. She once completes 20 marathons in 17 days.
But she’s still a woman, which means she’s still susceptible to events like this one.
She was running a 24-hour race in September. It was one of her last races of the season, and Kate was determined to win.
She was 50 miles into the race, and she was far ahead of any other participant. It was dark, but she had a head lamp on. That’s when disaster struck.
“A guy jumped out and ran up behind me. He grabbed my chest. Before, I’d been listening to my music, enjoying the race. He ran with me for what must have been only a few steps.”
He ran off, but Kate was shaken. Unsure if the man would come back, or if there were more attackers waiting, she didn’t know what to do.
She was so far in the lead that she knew her nearest competitor had to be at least two miles behind her. She ran back the way she came, and found another runner to tell.
“I could still feel his hands on me, like it was a horror film, that’s the only way I can describe it. The fight or flight kicked in and I just kept going. When I caught up with the next runner, I broke down in tears.”
After giving evidence, the race was suspended for the night. The director of the race told her she could decide whether or not she wanted to participate in the morning.
“The fighter in me said [to my attacker], ‘You don’t get to take away what I love doing, which is running.”
In the morning, she raced with the rest of her competitors. Despite getting only four hours of sleep, she completed the 82.2 mile circuit in 16 hours and 24 minutes, and took first.
But this doesn’t mean she was unaffected by her attack.
“For a couple of months after I had a real rough time with anxiety. It took me a month before I spent the night on my own.”
For her next 24-hour event three weeks later, she ran with a friend as a pacer for safety. She still took second.
“I went back a shell of myself,” she said. “But if I didn’t [run it], I would have gone into a downwards spiral.”
Her next race is in May. In the meantime, she avoides running at night. If she does, it’s in a well-lit area, or with a partner.
