British champion runner says a man tried to rape her in Portugal
A British champion runner says a man tried to rape her in a “premeditated attack” abroad – but was saved by the ‘crash alert’ on her sports watch.
Alison Walker, 36, who recently moved to Heptonstall, West Yorks, from London, recalled how the man pushed her to the ground and tried to rip her shorts off on Tuesday.
The frightened athlete said he targeted her whilst she was training for an upcoming race in Algarve, Portugal. She explained the fall to the ground activated the alert on her Garmin watch and she told the man that her device had phoned the police.
Alison, who holds the record solo time for a 300km route visiting the highest points in all 32 boroughs of London called the Smog Graham Round, ran a route between Albufeira and Vilamoura. Speaking about the ordeal, she said: “Today when I was doing my ssssion around the honey farm loop, on my second rep some guy ran out of the bushes then grabbed me and pushed me to the ground.
“He then started to try and take my shorts off. I offered all my valuables and he wasn’t interested! Thankfully my Garmin “crash alert” was activated when I got flung to the ground, I thought I’d just lie and say that’s the alarm to call the police. He then took my watch and fled. So yes, £400 down.”
Revealing she was assisted by two friends, she added: “Ran out to the trail and saw Kevin and Sharon who helped me and got me to safety and called the police. Me bawling my eyes out unable to see as the attack was forceful and my contact lenses fell out.
“I have never felt unsafe on a run before and we’ve run in some dodgy places. Honestly thank god for my Garmin, well, RIP Garmin, it’s now with a rapist! It was pre-meditated as the rape scene had a piece of tarpaulin on the ground and a bottle of water. Thank God for all my weight training and being able to push him away at the right time. God so f***king stressful.
“So if you know anyone who is around the Algarve on a running trip, please please please tell them not to run around the honey farm loop on their own. Please. The GNR police were absolutely ace though, could not have faulted them. They were so quick and there were about 4-5 cars and vans and a cute dog to find the culprit. He’s still out and about so…
“I honestly don’t know if I can do the rest of the week’s training, or whether I’ll be ready to race at Crawley in three weeks… but thankfully I got away with just a few scratches on my face and arms and legs and one Garminuk down.”
She branded her attacker a prick and scum in a subsequent post, saying: “Running for me has been an outlet, and a bloody love running. to almost have that taken away is unthinkable.
“To be honest, in those five or so minutes of ordeal, I thought I might not make it. All I thought in my head was, I fucking worked so hard in my life to get where I am (work, life, lovely home and running, husband and friends) and I don’t want this prick to ruin my life. I’ve always had to fight to get to where I am and whilst I may look like I’ve got it all, trust me, every single step of my life has been a battle.
“Fighting to get into the big four to stay in the UK to work dealing with bullying, long hours, exams… just to send money home to support my dad who’s had a stroke and been in care for the last 10 years!
“I am not a talented runner and rely heavily on a good and challenging plan… And I also didn’t want to catch whatever this scum has in his f***ing body, and literally fought with every inch of strength in my head and body.”
It was not immediately clear today if police had made any arrests. As well as the GNR police force, Portugal’s PJ force was also alerted and a sniffer dog mobilised. Alison has told in past interviews how she started running after moving to the UK for university.
She took up ultra-running after suffering a severe ankle ligament break in 2018 and reading a book about the demanding sport which had been recommended to her by her physio. She has revealed in the past to running around 100 miles a week. She started doing ultras in 2019 and came second in her first 100-miler.
