Trigger warning: discussion of rape and attempted rape.
NB: This article has been printed with the express permission of Alison Walker. Reports published on other outlets have been done so without her permission. Social media guidance explicitly states that; “Journalists should not publish information… which might identify a victim of a sexual offence without the permission of that person.” All outlets currently publishing articles about Alison’s attack are doing so in direct contravention of this guidance.
Ultra runner Alison Walker has spoken to Women’s Running, after she endured an attempted rape while training in the Algarve. The terrifying attack took place in the morning of Tuesday 19th March. Alison spoke to us from her hotel on the Algarve, three days later; she’s keen to share her story, and for us to do what we can to promote awareness of concerning safety issues for women runners.
What Alison is most concerned about are other runners – women who will be travelling out to the Algarve in the next days and weeks, who won’t have seen her story and won’t be aware of the dangers. “I think it’s really important that [my story] comes out,” she tells us. “This was not an isolated incident, and lots of people will be coming out here to train over…
