SURVIVING A PREDATOR
KELLY HERRON SHOWED INCREDIBLE BRAVERY FIGHTING OFF HER ASSAILANT WHILE SHE WAS OUT RUNNING
Kelly Herron, 36, was at a great stage in her life in March 2017.
After overcoming a battle with alcoholism, she had found the passion she needed to aid her recovery: running. Earlier that year, after more than 12 months of dedicated training and numerous races, she set herself the goal of running the “Rock ’n’ Roll Seattle Marathon”. Her preparation for the event was going well, and with around three months until the big day, she set out for another of her regular runs. This particular one was going to be a ten-mile jog, which would take her through Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park, a popular green space in the city. Around halfway through,
Kelly stopped to use the loo in one of the park’s public toilets. As she was set to leave, Kelly described a creeping feeling of unease that suddenly came over her. She felt a “chill” run through her, and turned to see a man appear from a stall he had been lurking in.
“He immediately took me to the ground,” Kelly said later, when recalling the attack in which her assailant attempted to rape her. A brawl on the cubicle floor
ensued, as Kelly fought with “every fibre of my being”. She employed her knowledge of combat moves in the grapple, as in an incredible twist of fate, she had attended a self-defence class not a month before the incident. Her company had scheduled for Kelly to go to the two-hour lesson three weeks before, and the vital skills she learned there proved nothing less than crucial that day. A technique she remembered as she struggled against the man was “to put hard bones to soft, fleshy places”, which she did as she struck the side of the attacker’s face with her hand. Kelly continued to fight ferociously, clawing and punching, despite the extensive facial and bodily injuries he was inflicting on her.
After successfully subduing the man, Kelly managed to wriggle underneath the stall door and escape. She put this down to her flexibility after running for four miles beforehand, meaning her muscles were loose enough to allow her body to contort as needed. After crawling from the scene, a passer-by who’d heard Kelly’s screams of “Not today, motherfucker” came to her aid. With their help, Kelly was able to lock the attacker in the cubicle and keep him there until police arrived.
The man in question was 40year-old Gary Steiner, a registered sex offender. He was convicted of numerous sexual crimes in Arizona, and had moved to Washington state, where he continued to prey on women. Steiner was charged with attempted second-degree rape and seconddegree assault, and was held on $750,000 bail. Kelly’s brave resistance may have saved not only her, but other women who could have become targets of this highly dangerous predator.
‘MY BODY IS BRUISED, BUT MY SPIRIT IS INTACT’
SELF-PROTECTION
Following the attack, Kelly took to Instagram to share her story of survival. In her post, which garnered over 15,000 likes in a week, she highlighted the importance of her self-defence training, and urged both men and women to educate themselves in the event they had to protect themselves. She also showed positivity and fight, commenting, “My body is bruised, but my spirit is intact.” Her message reached thousands of people through social media, and emphasised the need for runners to remain vigilant.
Although the majority of cases do not reach the level of violence Kelly experienced, it is not uncommon for female runners to be harassed or assaulted when enjoying exercise. A Runner’s World survey conducted of female runners concluded that a shocking 43 per cent of women experienced some form of harassment when out jogging. The percentage also comes in stark contrast to that of men interviewed, with just four per cent stating they received harassment while running. Because of this scarily high statistic, Kelly has continued to stress the importance for women to have the ability to defend themselves if the worst should happen.
Despite suffering nightmares and anxiety after the attack, Kelly doesn’t want to discourage women from running. She stated after the ordeal that she wanted women “to take back our city beaches, parks and trails”. As she said after Steiner was sentenced to 36 months in March 2018, “This is about protecting the community, this is about protecting other women.”
And “Not today, motherfucker” has become her empowering catchphrase, used in the many documentaries and podcasts she’s been involved with.