Summer Willis decided that she didn’t want to run away from her past anymore, instead she wanted to run toward something better, while also bringing awareness to sexual assault and supporting survivors such as herself.
Willis, 29, determined she would run 29 marathons in a year to focus attention on sexual assault and connect fellow assault survivors to free support services. She will be traveling from her home in Texas to California this weekend, to run in her 28th marathon at the Long Beach Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 6.
Last year, after reading the book “The Body Keeps Score,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and reading an article about Julie Weiss – the Santa Monica native who ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise funds for pancreatic cancer after her father passed away – Willis kept thinking about both which sparked an idea.
“The next morning, unlike a normal person who’s like, ‘I’m going to run a marathon,’ I told my husband, ‘I’m gonna run 29 marathons this year when I turned 29 in three months,’” Willis said in an interview, “and so that kind of started the journey, because even though I couldn’t run a marathon, I said I want to do this and I’m going to be successful in two weeks.”
When she started the ambitious goal, Willis said she was determined, even though she had never been a runner before. She got last place in the first two marathons she took on, but has improved immensely since then. Last month, she got second place in a 100-mile race.
“I feel like I’ve come so far this year, and I have my community to thank because every single race I’ve been able to connect with survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence, but also people with their own stories of resilience, and those really encouraged me,” Willis said. “I feel like everyone who’s running a marathon or ultra marathon has a story of why they’re trying to be a better person.”
Even though she won’t be escaping the heat in Long Beach, Willis said she was excited to take on her 28th marathon and being one race closer to completing her 759.8-mile mission.
“It feels surreal because this past weekend, I got to run two marathons in a day in Austin, and that’s where my assault and domestic violence relationship happened,” she said, “and it was just really, really beautiful to see how far I’ve come. Both with mental strength, how much stronger I feel, and how I have self worth and confidence now, and hope for the future, but also to see all that my body is capable of.”
Willis also made a commitment to not only running 29 marathons, but also launching 29 podcast episodes, creating 29 pieces of merchandise, and raising $290,000 to help survivors like herself.
For the Long Beach Marathon, Willis has partnered with the UCLA Rape Treatment Center, which provides free, comprehensive treatment for sexual assault victims – adults and children – 24 hours a day, including counseling, advocacy, and more. The center is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month.
“I’m asking people to donate $29 or however much they want (to the center) to keep on serving,” Willis said, “because the average survivor, to combat your trauma, needs approximately $112,000, it’s not an easy thing to get the counseling service and get the legal services – anything helps.”
Willis also started a nonprofit called “Strength Through Strides” last year, which is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women, urging them to embark on their own journeys and confront the daunting challenges posed by sexual assault, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Partnering with other nonprofits and organizations, such as the UCLA Rape Treatment Center, is also part of the nonprofit’s mission to be able to connect survivors of sexual assault or domestic abuse with local resources, Willis said.
The nonprofit will soon be going out and speaking at sorority and fraternity houses at universities as well.
“If we can stop this from happening to just one person, if I can share my experience with just one person and that doesn’t happen to them, well, that’s a huge win,” Willis said.
Running has been a blessing and has helped save her life, Willis said. It allows people to be outside, meet community members, take moments for themselves to reflect, or listen to their favorite Taylor Swift album or podcast, she added.
“It’s just been really healing,” Willis said. “I think you also have to go to therapy, and I think some days a one hour therapy session is just as hard as a six hour marathon, but I think between those two, I’ve been able to have a year of healing. I feel stronger than I ever have.”
To bring awareness as she runs each marathon, Willis has either carried a mattress on her back or wears denim – which has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault.
“I think 19-year-old Summer when I was raped, I just wanted to hear a story about a survivor being strong and a happy ending,” Willis said. “I try to wear glitter, I just want people out there to realize, we do get a happy ending too.”
“I want people to know there’s hope out there,” she added, “and you can do this even if it’s tough right now. I still have bad days, but there’s more good days ahead.”
Marathon No. 29 will be the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13. Strength Through Strides will have a cheer booth at Mile 25, Willis said. Then in February, she will be trying to be the first person to crawl a marathon in Austin, and there is still more she wants to accomplish.
In addition to her goal and nonprofit, Willis is also proud to be a wife, and mother of two little boys, a one and a three-year-old, who will be cheering her on as she crosses the finish line on Sunday.
“I just want to keep on showing women, showing people, we’re capable of great things,” she said. “I still don’t consider myself a runner or an athlete, but I consider myself someone who signs up, shows up, and I don’t give up. And when I put my mind to something, I know I’m going to do it, and that’s what this year has been.”
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