This Man Is Running Coast to Coast to Inspire Sexual Abuse Survivors to Break Their Silence

By Taylor Dutch
Runner's World
August 7, 2018

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a22663057/christian-griffith-cross-country-run-inspire-sex-abuse-survivors/

Courtesy Of Adam Warwinsky

From the inside of an RV parked along the road in Ely, Nevada, Christian Griffith took a well-deserved break from running to answer the call from Runner’s World.

He’d already put in some serious mileage during the day, and he wasn’t done yet. Earlier in the morning, he ran 15 miles while climbing a peak through the desert. At 8:00 p.m., he would embark on 16 more. The 30 plus-mile day is one of many since March that has put him closer to completing his cross-country goal: to complete a 3,000-mile run across the United States.

He’s logging those miles for all those who have survived childhood sexual abuse—himself included, from his mother and multiple men when he was in his teens. For over 30 years, Griffith internalized the painful memories of his past. But then, two years ago, he sought treatment, and in doing so, became inspired to help other victims.

And there are a lot out there: Every eight minutes, child protective services finds evidence for a claim of child sexual abuse, according to RAINN. The effects can be long-term. Victims of child sexual abuse are also four times more likely to develop symptoms of drug abuse, and are four times more likely to experience post traumatic stress disorder as adults.

Griffith is making it his mission to raise awareness to the often-silent issue that affects so many people around the world by running across the entire country. He’s partnered with Help For Children, a nonprofit that works to prevent and treat child abuse. His goal? To raise $1 million for the charity.

“It’s given me a lot of time to think,” Griffith said. “Until this run across the country, I used running to test myself, to see what I’m made of, just to calm the demons in my head. But a lot has changed for me on this run.”

For Griffith, the trauma manifested in silence for over 30 years, and he developed coping mechanisms that involved compartmentalization and isolation. Extreme sports like surfing, skateboarding, and ultra-running provided a mental escape for the Jacksonville, Florida native. Since taking up running in 2006, Griffith has completed over 100 races of marathon distance or farther, including Survival Run Australia, Fuego Y Agua 100K in Nicaragua, and the World’s Toughest Mudder (50 miles with 170 obstacles).

“I learned in therapy that I do all those things because it numbs my brain. When I’m physically exhausted, I’m not so chewed up by the demons in my head,” Griffith said. “It just seemed like I needed to use the attributes that I have to try and get other people talking about this.”

Griffith, a digital strategist, was also inspired by the women who are fighting against sexual abuse in the #MeToo Movement, the actresses in Hollywood who spoke out against Harvey Weinstein, and the hundreds of gymnasts who helped put Larry Nassar behind bars.

“That door got cracked open and then they kicked it down,” he said. “I’m proud of the women. They inspired me as I was developing this run.”

Before he started his cross-country journey, Griffith used running as a test of his physical ability, a test of his character, and as a way to achieve mental clarity. But now, as he enters the final stretch of the run—about 500 miles to go—he has discovered a new set of goals.

“I came out here with the external goal of motivating and inspiring other people to talk about abuse. I came with the internal goal of discovering the concept of forgiveness in my own life,” he said. “I still don’t understand it. I’m 2,563 miles in and I still don’t understand what forgiveness means. I’m still looking for it…”

COURTESY OF ADAM WARWINSKY

But throughout his journey, he developed another goal: to experience as many people as he possibly could.

“I think that as someone who is crossing this country on two feet, I’m experiencing America in the most raw, intimate way possible, and it has been 99.99 percent positive,” Griffith says. “I’ve had the most unbelievable experiences with people.”

From the freezing start of his run in Manhattan, New York, to the windy city of Chicago, Illinois, through small-town Nebraska, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and now approaching the rugged Sierra Nevadas, Griffith has been met with kindness at every turn.

Families have invited his crew into their homes for home-cooked meals and pool parties. Hundreds of runners have joined him for 5K races along the route, audiences have listened intently during his speaking engagements, and many fellow survivors have been inspired to share their own stories as a result of Griffith sharing his.

Griffith encourages survivors to first talk about their experience, to share it with someone they trust. And once they begin treatment, he says, running can be a great form of meditation. For Griffith, the run through the desert has been a particularly helpful tool in self-reflection.

“Say I run 32 miles in the desert. So, I spend a minimum of 3.5 hours, each leg, seven hours a day alone in the desert. I don’t see anyone. I don’t have anyone’s influence on my actions. I don’t have anyone’s influence on my thoughts,” he says. “The thoughts and the stuff I’m thinking about is all truly me, it’s my true character. It’s being exposed to me right out there in the desert,” he said.

And that quiet can lead to introspection that you can’t often find in the bustle of everyday life.

“There is no other time in our lives where we really have that much quiet where we are alone with ourselves. It’s a really interesting place to be because you are presented with who you are,” he says. “I think running is a great time to be one on one with yourself and to sort things out when you’re not being influenced by someone else.”

At the time of the call with Runner’s World, Griffith had 536 miles left in his run across the country. His journey will end when he crosses the finish line of the Run2Heal 5K in San Francisco, California on August 22. Runners can register for the race online and help Griffith complete the 3,000-mile feat that has taken him five long, painstaking months.

To Griffith, every mile is worth the effort when the message inspires survivors of childhood sexual abuse to live with hope instead of fear.

“I really want them to know that it doesn’t define who you are. Your past does not have to be your future. There is a way out, and the first step is to start talking about it.”