Hi my name is Nicole Gallagher, I’m from Danville Pa. Running is one of the best ways I have found to cope with a bad situation. Hopefully by sharing my experience I can help someone else who might be going through what I went through.
I have been doing some kind of running since high school. It wasn’t until about five years ago when I was going through my divorce that I really got into it. It helped me cope with the situation. I used all the bad to push me.
That year I lost 25 lbs really fast and also ran my first half and full marathon. I have been addicted ever since. Throughout the years running has helped me deal with everything. When I lost my grandparents running helped me cope with the sadness. I have also used running to deal with the heartaches of breaking up with boyfriends. I honestly feel like I can take on the world and that is all due to running.
On September 8, 2012, I believe running saved my life. I was at a bar and someone slipped something into my drink. I’m not sure how I left the bar but somehow ended up at the house of the man who drugged me. The next thing I remember I was running. I managed to get to the town park and luckily had enough sense to grab my belongings and was able to call my mom for help.
She took me to the emergency room where a rape kit was done. I found out later that I was in fact raped. I filed a report the day after the attack but because I didn’t have much of a memory I couldn’t say what happened. Unfortunately my blood and urine sample got lost so they were never tested for the drug. It looked like a hopeless case. I was devastated. And I was terrified that this guy could come after me. Luckily for me I was training for Steamtown and New York. I had to keep running and moving forward. That night I ran away from my attacker. And I kept running to keep living.
Unfortunately, the man also committed several other rapes, but authorities finally caught him and were able to press charges. Currently I am waiting to go to trial. For the last year and a half of my life I have been waiting for this to be over. Running and working out is the only way that I have stayed sane and have been able to cope with all of this. I am grateful everyday that I found running. Rather than running to drugs or alcohol when things get unbearable I just go for a really really long run. And every time, I come back stronger and ready to face my problems.