A message from Frances:

MARATHON DONATION

This year, I am raising money for Brave Noise with my running of the Colfax Marathon!

*TRIGGER WARNING: the following includes sexual assault*

In June of 2022, I was sexually assaulted in an airport following a brewing conference. A space that I should have felt safe in with cameras and security were ultimately ineffective deterrents to my assailant, as was the justice system following my report of what had happened to my inebriated body.

I spent two weeks depressed, borderline catatonic. But here is where I decided I have a choice:

1 Lose my opportunities, and look back years later with regret that I let that man take away what I worked so hard for, or
2 Fight back with success and strength.

I got back on the treadmill and started a weight training program. I couldn’t stand the smell of alcohol, so I stayed sober and focused on healing. I dove into the research, even if my hands shook with pipetting and plating.

I ran the Colfax marathon in May of 2023. It was tremendously healing. As I approached the finish line listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” I realized that every mile, I was reaching backward to every iteration of me: to the victim, the angsty teenager, the curious child, each holding each other’s hands to create my own chain of identity. I was also reaching forward to the person I don’t know, but they were on the other side of the finish line, and I wanted to learn all about them and this new link in the chain.

This year I am running the Colfax Marathon again for Brave Noise, a nonprofit that is working towards a safe and discrimination-free beer industry. Brave Noise helps and empowers people who have been victims of gender or racial-based discrimination, harassment, or abuse in the hospitality workplace with resources and financial support. We all deserve to be here without worrying that we will be attacked for being us. We deserve to feel safe and celebrate who we are, and we all deserve a beer.