She had stored everything away in a small closet nestled under the stairs in her family duplex in Nogent-sur-Marne, a suburb east of Paris. "These are my relics," said Lina (those mentioned by first name requested anonymity), her voice filled with regret. For the past two and a half years, the sports bag containing a pair of running shoes, a headlamp and a neon orange windbreaker has been buried under a yoga mat and resistance bands, a reminder of a bygone era when running played a significant role in her life. For months, this 30-something medical secretary had been training for the New York Marathon. Until July 13, 2022.

Late in the afternoon that day, as usual, Lina was treading the paths of the Bois de Vincennes (a large park in eastern Paris) listening to her electropop playlist through her AirPods, with the timer running on her smartwatch. Upon arriving near Lake Daumesnil, she noticed that there were fewer people than usual. Parisians had left the region for Bastille Day. At least, she thought, she wouldn't have to avoid the chaotic paths of young children on their balance bikes or weave around groups of walkers spread out on the paths.

It was then that two young men approached her. "They looked perfectly normal," she recalled. "They looked like my friends." As they passed her, one of them made her trip. She fell into the gravel and got injured. The other extended his hand to help her up, feigning kindness. "Once I was standing, they blocked me and demanded what they called 'thanks,'" she said. She was raped, according to Article 222-22 of the French Penal Code. Lina went to the police station, sold her running shorts and sports bras on fashion app Vinted and began a long therapeutic journey to rebuild herself.

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