Women and gender diverse runners Take Back the Track from fear of violence

Please be advised this article mentions acts of assault 

In February 2023, I was violently assaulted whilst going for a run on Wadawurrung Country in the Lal Lal State Forest, just outside the town of Ballarat in South West Victoria. 

Never in my wildest running dreams did I imagine I’d ever find myself in such a deep place of loneliness and fear. It was nothing short of terrifying, waking up on the forest floor alone after being knocked unconscious, 4kms deep into bushlands that had once been my happy place, my retreat from the colony. 

Following the assault, I allowed myself permission to fall apart safely into the arms of my community for a period of time, before putting the runners back on and subsequently training for my first marathon, under the guidance of the Indigenous Marathon Project and the broader runner community. Through the tears I cried on the first few runs after the attack; I kept a strong hold of the determination to not allow anyone to steal from me my love and connection to running.

Since completing the New York City Marathon in November 2023, I ran my second marathon in Ballarat and a third marathon in Melbourne. Running three marathons within 12 months is something I could yarn about for days, but I’ll just highlight that these three 42.2km runs have each required hundreds of hours of training, which also means hundreds of hours of time to yourself to think, this is where the planning for Take Back the Track was born.

Taking Back the Track

Through sharing my story throughout my healing journey, women and gender diverse people have shared with me their experiences of violence and/or harassment whilst running. I have also followed closely the research Turia Pitt conducted last year on runner’s safety. This told me that I wasn’t alone in my experience, unfortunately. 

Take Back the Track’s vision is for women and gender-diverse runners to feel less alone, validated and a sense of belonging and safety when running. We strive to develop a growing movement that recognises the unacceptable experiences of women and gender-diverse runners, and fights for all runners to feel a sense of freedom and happiness when running.

Take Back the Track is a movement that celebrates the love of running and the joy it activates in women and gender-diverse people across the country. We love running just as much as our male counterparts, and have a right to experience boundless and unapologetic freedom out on the track. 

Women and gender diverse runners across the country are now rising collectively to say we have a right to run free from fear, violence and harassment. We belong on the track and we will not be allowing men’s violence to rob us of our love and connection to running. 

For First Nations runners, I often find that we use the tool of running as our own form of activism within the colony. Moving our bodies on country is a staunch resistance to the chains this colony wishes it had locked firmly to our legs. 

Running on country is an act of moving through and with our sovereignty, through being guided by and connected to all the elements of country. To be a First Nations runner in this colony right now is a gift from the old people who fought the fight and cleared the tracks for us, and for this, we have an obligation to protect our right to run. 

We know it can be a really hard and harsh world out there to exist in, particularly for women and gender diverse people. Activities such as running have community care benefits as well as development and growth of self. Within this context, the benefits of something as simple and accessible as running is so worthy of being protected and so worthy of fighting for. 

When I reflect on the loneliness I felt after being attacked, the journey to arrive here on this day has reminded me that in fact I was never alone.  There is a growing movement of women and gender diverse runners saying enough is enough, you’re not alone and let’s fight this fight together.

Take Back the Track is our movement, it is a movement to say that we matter and our lives shouldn’t be at risk. Take Back the Track is calling on the country to join the movement on National Take Back the Track Day, Sunday 16th February 2025. We are calling on runners, running groups, communities to dedicate a run/walk to the vision of Take Back the Track.

Further information on Take Back the Track and a resource for National Take Back the Track can be found on our website.