Kelly Herron faces another assault, and is tired of not saying anything

Kelly Herron, the woman who fought off a rapist while running at Golden Gardens last year, said she once again found herself fighting an assailant in the middle of a race this past weekend.

Herron was on mile 12 of 13.1 of the Girlfriends Run for a Cure Half-Marathon in Vancouver, Wash., when she saw a man eyeing her and coming toward her in a disturbing manner.

“This guy was on the side of the course kind of coming toward me like creeping, lurking, and looking at me like he knew me,” she told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “He just ran at me with his arms kind of low, like a low hug, and just grabbed my rear end full-on.”

As the man grabbed her, Herron noticed a “smug smile” on his face, as if he was proud of himself for getting away with the grope.

RELATED: Kelly Herron feels Seattle City Council isn’t listening to women

Herron grappled with the fact that just a year-and-a-half after the Golden Gardens attack, she was experiencing a second sexual assault.

“I couldn’t believe it happened,” she said.

For a moment, Herron said she hesitated about what to do. An avid runner, she was concerned about her finishing time in the race.

“I was not out for an afternoon jog along the waterfront, I was in a race that I cared about,” she said.

Herron, who said she has been groped before, briefly considered just trying to forget the assault and finish the race. However, a moment later, Herron realized she wanted the assailant to be held accountable for his actions.

The fact that she was even for a second considering letting this go, she said, was a testament to how normalized it is in society for men to get away with groping — and she was not going to stand for that.

“Women are groped, harassed, and assaulted in this type of way all the time … I’m just not letting this go anymore, and I don’t feel that women should let this go anymore,” she said.

Herron chased down the perpetrator, though she noted wryly that “it’s a lot easier to fight after four miles than 12.” She screamed loudly, attracting the attention of a man and woman who were observing the race about 0.1 miles away. The man tackled the groper, while his wife called 911.

“It was a great reminder that there are good guys,” Herron said of the man who helped her. “Most guys are good guys … yes, there are scumbags like the guy who groped me, but for every one of them, there are 100 guys who do the right thing and stand by us and support us.”

RELATED: Kelly Herron says she never stopped fighting

Herron said that people like this assailant go on to commit more crimes if they can get away with it, and she was committed to making sure that this would not happen.

“When I saw that look on his face and he was so happy with himself, I just knew that it was not going to be the last time,” she said. She noted that after the assailant saw that she was willing to fight back, “that smile wiped off his face real fast.”

Dori asked her why she believes that assaults have happened to her twice while running and Herron replied with a sentiment that many women might undoubtedly agree with.

“I think this happens to people all the time, and they just don’t say anything,” Herron said. “And I’m tired of not saying anything.”

But with Herron’s example, this will hopefully begin to change.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I know one thing we need to do is report it,” she said. “It’s inconvenient, it sucks, we have to take time off work, it’s emotionally draining, but there’s no other way to hold these guys accountable.”

Follow @NicoleKIROFM