Every week, we will take a look at inspirational and motivational females throughout history as part of a campaign entitled #GirlsRunTheWorld from Life Style Sports. Why? Well because we do. Fuelled by strength and empowerment, the Life Style Sports ‘Girls Run the World’ campaign aims to support women in achieving their running and fitness goals in 2014 with the very best product range and free advice from the team of Life Style Sports Product Experts available in stores throughout the country.
Life Style Sports hope that the ‘Girls Run the World’ campaign will inspire women and with this in mind, we will feature inspirational women from Irish Olympic runner Fionnuala Britton to Hilary Clinton – these Girls Run The World and we want to celebrate them!
This week, we take a look at the inspiration that is Katie Piper.
1. She survived a brutal attack.
In March 2008, Katie Piper was raped and attacked by Daniel Lynch in a hotel room, a man with whom she had a brief relationship with. Two days after the attack, Lynch persuaded Katie to go and check an email in an internet cafe. The details of her whereabouts were given to Stefan Sylvestre by Lynch who was waiting for Katie on the street. When he approached her, he threw sulphuric acid in her face. Her attackers were subsequently arrested and later charged and imprisoned for the attack.
2. Her recovery.
Katie went through a shocking 40 surgical operations, was placed in an induced coma from which she subsequently lost 38kg and had to wear a face mask for 23 hours a day for scarring following the attack. Her recovery period was so lengthy that her mother quit her job in order to take care of her but Katie never gave up the fight to survive.
3. She gave up her anonymity to help others in her position.
Piper soldiered on, even giving up her anonymity in order to speak out about the attack, raising awareness and helping others in the process. Katie spoke out about the attack stating: "I started thinking about telling my story. It would mean waiving my anonymity as a rape victim, but I was sure it would give hope to other burns victims. A film-maker said he was interested in my story. It meant a crew would film me going about my everyday life. I felt I could cope."
4. Her documentary.
When she waved her anonymity, Katie agreed to appear in a documentary,
Katie: My Beautiful Face, not just to raise awareness but to detail the treatments she had undergone since the attack. The documentary attracted 3.3 million viewers on its first airing.
5. The Katie Piper Foundation.
By speaking out and raising awareness, Katie has turned a horrible attack into something positive, helping others and setting up her foundation.
The Katie Piper Foundation aims to help burns survivors and support them on their journey to recovery. The below video gives an idea of the work Katie does, she is a complete inspiration.
Whatever kind of training you are involved in, the Life Style Sports Product Experts (in stores nationwide) are on hand to ensure each customer selects the correct clothing and footwear to meet their individual needs, reducing risk of injury and achieving better results. Life Style Sports also offers customers a free Gait Analysis service in select stores which provides runners with an essential insight into their individual running styles. Customers can also find all the information they need on wearing the right technical apparel, including “Sports Bra Fitting Guides” and footwear while running or working out at “The Fitness Hub” on lifestylesports.com.
