The fighters who step into the octagon dedicate their lives to martial arts for their own reason, but most of them share the same goal: To win the championship of their respective divisions. There are people who train alongside these fighters that will never get discovered due to their interests in other avenues, and this runner who went viral is training under her discipline just to stay safe.
That training eventually paid off.
Just four miles into her run, Kelly Herron stopped to utilize a public restroom where she was attacked by a man hiding in a bathroom stall. Herron went viral after local ABC affiliate KIRO7 covered the story, revealing that the man who attempted to assault her was a 40-year-old level 3 sex offender who, according to The Seattle Times, had previously been convicted of assaulting women.
“My biggest running nightmare became reality- 4 miles into my long run Sunday afternoon, I stopped to use the restroom and was assaulted by a man hiding in a stall (that is my GPS in red lines). I fought for my life screaming(“Not today, [expletive]”), clawing his face, punching back, and desperately trying to escape his grip- never giving up. I was able to lock him in the bathroom until police arrived. Thankfully I just took a self-defense class offered at my work and utilized all of it. My face is stitched, my body is bruised, but my spirit is intact. #fightingchanceseattle #ballard #runnersafety #marathontraining #womensselfdefense #myballard #fightlikeagirl #fightback #dontbeavictim #[expletive] #youcantbreakme #instarunners #garmin #garminvivosmarthr”
