03/06/2026
I was recently asked if I’ve had a lot of trauma in my life.
It stumped me, because no-one’s immune to hard times & I’m not sure what would qualify as “a lot”.
It did however open up a conversation with some of the MOAM members regarding safety while running.
As a teenager & young adult I used to run through Burns Beach when ONLY “old” Burns Beach was established.
It was Burns Beach road & mostly bush 👌🏼
However in 2006 developments started & my quiet runs were now filled with wolf whistles & cars honking.
There were a lot of men working on these houses.
As time went on I started to run into trouble. I was followed by cars several times noticing the same car would go around the roundabout & past me again & again & again.
1 time I was followed to my driveway where a Land Cruiser with it’s high beams at dusk stopped, facing my driveway as we had a stand off out the front.
I couldn’t see through the windscreen.
A couple months later someone made it into my house & attempted to get into my bedroom.
I’m grateful to this day that my sister had put a front door lock on that door to stop my other sister from stealing her clothes. That lock is what saved me.
The years went on & the near misses continued, I was followed, stalked & witness to indecent behaviour which resulted in jail time for the perpetrator.
Sometimes I wonder if I attracted these situations, other times I wonder if my hyper tuned intuition just makes me more aware.
I don’t think I’ll ever know.
One thing I know is the vulnerability I used to feel in these situations has been replaced by defiance.
I don’t know what I will face but I know I’m not ever going to go down without a fight.
You can train to look strong 💪🏼
But more importantly train to trade vulnerability for confidence 😊