Rescued by Running

Miranda Addonizio, an eight-time marathoner, was hoping her time in the April 2009 Illinois Marathon would qualify her for Boston. She had just started her training in December 2008, running on a trail near her home in Indiana when she heard footsteps behind her. Less than a moment later, the 26-year-old was being dragged into the nearby woods by a man who had covered her eyes with her ear warmer, pinned her arms and head, threatened her and sexually assaulted her.

Fortunately, he eventually let her go. She told her story to police and turned over her clothes as evidence. Amazingly, the police apprehended her assailant on the same day of her attack, which at least comforted Addonizio enough to allow her to sleep at night. But in the weeks and months ahead, she had to find a way to cope with what happened to her and the strength to confront her attacker in court. For Addonizio, the long road to recovery started with running. "The very next day I ran on the treadmill," she said. "I felt so helpless, I needed to do something. He kept me from finishing a run and I thought, 'I will finish my run.'"

Though she was overwhelmed by flashes of the assault and terrified to go out alone, Addonizio was more determined than ever to qualify for Boston. "It added fuel to the fire," she said. "If I wavered from my goal, then he would've won." At first, she went to the gym with her now husband to run on the treadmill. As she grew more comfortable, she would go to the gym alone and eventually began running outside with a group -- sometimes with fists clenched in anger.
It was a fortuitous meeting that proved to be the catalyst to her running outside again. A woman who had been running on the same trail saw the man just before he assaulted Addonizio and the description she provided police was instrumental in his capture. Addonizio went to thank the witness, named Tracy, and as she expressed her gratitude, she also mentioned her goal of qualifying for the elite Boston Marathon. Tracy, an ultra-runner, not only volunteered to go along with Addonizio for her upcoming 20-mile training run, but introduced her to a Bloomington triathlon/running group, called Women with Will, that was organizing an event in the wake of the attack called "Take Back the Trail."

Addonizio and her new running partner joined hundreds of other men and women in a run along the trail aimed at demonstrating that the community would not be intimidated by sexual violence. She ran by the scene of her attack which was still cordoned off by police tape and recalled being touched by a tremendous show of support by people who didn't realize she was the very victim they were honoring.

When the Illinois Marathon arrived in April of last year, Addonizio was as ready as she could be, but struggled toward the end of the race. "I kept thinking, 'If I don't [qualify], this won't make for a very good story.'" But she proudly finished the race just under the qualifying mark. "The feeling was indescribable," she said proudly.

But the high didn't last for long. "The whole year was a mess -- hearings, trials, continuances. I felt like I was going crazy," she said. Addonizio, who had to recount the details of the attack repeatedly as well as see her attacker face to face, no longer found refuge in running. "Running gave me too much time to think," she said.

After taking some time off from running, she decided that signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon might help her regain some focus. But as the November marathon date approached, so did her assailant's sentencing hearing. "I was supposed to be carbo-loading but I couldn't eat because I was so upset," she said.

Her attacker, who had similarly assaulted a 15-year-old girl a few years before, was finally sentenced to 60 years in prison; the marathon took place two days later. "I was so drained from everything that had happened, I struggled a lot more in this marathon, but somehow I managed to run faster," she said. Addonizio, now had a second Boston qualifying time that came with a tremendous sense of relief and resolution.

Addonizio, who chronicles her running life on her on blog, Bittersweet Symphony, says she has put the assault behind her and credits running for giving her strength through her recovery. "If it's windy and 15 degrees and I have to get my long run in, I'll get out there and do it. That mindset has made me tougher. Because I tell myself 'I can get through this. I know I can get through this. This will end.'"

Addonizio is currently training for the Boston Marathon this upcoming April, which will be her eleventh. When she runs, she is armed with pepper spray and she sticks to well-lit areas and often runs with groups. "I try to follow the usual safety advice when I can," she said. "I also avoid being zoned out. I have awareness and alertness, and those are two good weapons to have."

Get more inspiration: Read about Steve Baker, who overcame paralysis to finish a marathon.