Woman hopes Cambridgeshire marathon finds light for domestic abuse victims
Tracy Honeyman fled domestic abuse before taking on the challenge
A woman from Cambridgeshire has said the thought of children suffering from domestic abuse is something she must tackle.
Tracy Honeyman is due to finish walking her seventh marathon in as many days today in aid of The Angels Foundation UK, which supports families fleeing domestic abuse in the county.
Tracy fled domestic abuse herself after being subject to coercive behaviour from her ex-husband, before she escaped after the Covid pandemic.
During the challenge, Tracy has been walking 27.2 rather than the usual 26.2 miles in each marathon to what she said reflects "the extra mile survivors go through to escape".
"I needed to do something"
"When you're in that situation, you don't want to be at home; you're not safe at home and when you are home, you're treading on eggshells waiting for the next war to break out," she said.
"That's how I got into walking and thought while I'm walking, I thought I'd put it to good use.
"My situation was a lot easier than most people that have fled domestic abuse, and the thought of having children trying to escape it, I needed to do something to help them."
Caroline Deeprose, CEO of The Angels Foundation, said the charity is proud of Tracy's challenge and that she is "a phenomenal woman and an inspiration to all survivors of domestic abuse."
Tracy, who has been walking the marathons in Huntingdonshire, is aiming to raise £2,000 for her chosen charity.
She hopes that her efforts can make a difference to people's lives.
"Children that go up living in within domestic violence tend to either grow up as an abuser or being abused because that's normality to them, so we need to help these people get out of that situation," she added.
"I used to go to bed and I wouldn't care if I didn't wake up in the morning; I wasn't suicidal but that's how I felt.
"You don't feel safe in your own home, but you can move on and have a life."