One in four women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime and on average one woman is killed every 5 days in England and Wales by a current or former partner.

I was one of those women, in my late teens early 20's I was in an abusive relationship. He never 'physically' hurt me but the mental trauma and fear he instilled in me took over a decade to work through.

It actually took me years to realise that I had been in an emotionally abusive relationship. He isolated me from my family and friends I actually had no friends by the end of our 5 years. He made me feel useless, knocked my self esteem and made me question myself.

I turned to drink to numb the pain. He would give me the silent treatment for days over nothing, he spoke to me so badly that his own mother asked me why I put up with it, but I was blind to it as it was my norm.

Looking back my turning point was from my job as a travel agent, where my manager built my confidence back up in my work, and it gave me the courage to realise I wanted more out of life.

So I left... but the came the threats. He would call me up saying he was going to set me on fire, he said he hoped I have a baby and it dies, horrific, I was scared, so scared for years.

I ran away and had the best life but even 10 years later I was scared to move back to my home town. BUT I did, then I went to therapy and I healed.

I am nearly 4 years sober now and have built a wonderful life with my business helping women become happier & healthier and my partner Martin who has shown me what real love is and not forgetting my fur baby Una.

When I am running this race, and it gets tough because it will.... I will think back to those times where I was hurt and lost and think 'if I can get through that then I can do this!'

Some women have it worse than I did and they can't get out, so I run to raise money for a fantastic charity that supports women like us, because it can happen to any of us.

Refuge is the largest single provider of specialist services to survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based abuse and runs the freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline that provides the first step to women escaping abuse. 

By kindly sponsoring me today you are helping to save and change the lives of thousands of women and their children. Thank you