Running is a wonderful way to stay fit and enjoy the outdoors, but for many women, it can also create anxiety. Just last summer, three women were murdered mid-run in different parts of the United States during a nine-day period.
It’s a horrifying reality, but sometimes, the attacker might get more than he bargained for. Such was the case when sex offender Gary Steiner attacked runner Kelly Herron in a public restroom in Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park.
Herron stopped to use the restroom 4 miles into her 10-mile run. There, Steiner was lying in wait. When she was drying her hands, she had an eerie sense that something was wrong.
Thanks to skills she had recently learned at a self-defense workshop, Herron was equipped to fight back, all while screaming, “Not today, M**F**er!” Those four words have evolved into their own brand—NTMF—and Herron’s mutilated GPS line data is now a symbol of her strength.
RealSelf, where Herron works, offers self-defense classes as a benefit to its employees. Just weeks before she was attacked, Herron took a class taught by Fighting Chance Seattle and was then forced to put what she learned to the test.
Herron believes the class saved her life, and she hopes other employers will see the merits of offering this kind of training. Inspired by her story, RealSelf is planning to host another training session, this time open to the public.
“One of the most important things I learned in the self-defense class is that if something feels unusual or off it probably is, and you need to react immediately,” Herron recalled. “During the incident, I was able to recall the defense moves I learned in the class such as striking with the side of the hands and ‘hard bones to soft fleshy places.’ I clawed his face because the eye and face area are very vulnerable.”
At one point during the attack she was able to run out of the public restroom, and with the help of some passersby, kept Steiner locked in the bathroom until help came.
When police arrived on the scene Herron said they let her know she “did an awesome job and that I did a pretty good number on his face.”
Following the attack, Herron shared her story alongside images of her injuries. In the four days, it’s been online, the Instagram post has been liked nearly 16,000 times.
“My face is stitched, my body is bruised, but my spirit is intact,” she wrote.
Steiner, a level 3 sex offender, has an extensive criminal background — he was convicted of assaulting several women in Arizona. Officers charged him with attempted rape and second-degree assault.
Herron’s tale of survival has profoundly impacted the running community, serving as an encouragement to women worldwide to “never stop fighting and never stop running.” Her story has also resonated with men, one of whom is her current boyfriend, Jonathan Lieberman.
Watch the video report below for more details:
Source: AWM
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