The Last Time We Crawl: Summer Willis’ Record-Breaking Marathon for Survivors

Written by Emily Arismendy

At 4:45am on February 15, before the city stirred awake, Summer Willis dropped to her hands and knees on the pavement of the Austin Highschool Track. In the silence of the early morning, she began the Austin Marathon—not running, not walking, but crawling. 

This was no ordinary race. This was endurance woven with pain, a marathon stitched together by years of survival, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of justice. Summer was not just moving forward; she was reclaiming ground. 

She crawled for many grueling hours on the track, each movement a tribute to the invisible struggle of survivors—those who have had to fight, inch by inch, to reclaim their bodies, their voices, and their lives. The crawl was slow, grueling. Her hands scraped against the pavement, her knees bore the weight of history, but she pressed on. Because for ten years, she had battled with the aftermath of a sexual assault in silence. Now, she spoke louder than ever not just through words but through a courageous act.

“When I thought about the last ten years since my rape as a university student, a word came to mind that I felt in my bones, and it was crawl. For a long time, I had to crawl back to reclaim my body, my mind, my spirit. I had to crawl to get people to believe me. I had to crawl to be able to break the silence to tell people about what happened to me. So, crawling felt like the perfect endurance event to spread awareness about sexual assault. And yesterday morning I started at 4:45 AM, and the metaphor of why I was crawling became a reality. For every ten minutes that a normal person runs a mile, it took me an hour to get one mile finished. And it reminded me of the days after the rape, where I was in my dorm room, crying, unable to leave out of the shame and the devastation of what just happened to me.”

– Summer Willis 

As dawn broke, so did records. First, the Guinness World Record for the first and fastest 5K completed while crawling. Then, the half marathon. But Summer wasn’t chasing titles. She was proving something—something bigger than any stopwatch could measure.  

That evening, she paused her crawl to attend SAFE’s Joie de Vivre Gala as a special guest, trading in her marathon gear for formal attire. Surrounded by advocates, supporters, and fellow survivors, she carried her message into the room—one of resilience, healing, and the urgent need for change.

And then, she stepped away from the celebration, laced up her shoes, and returned to the pavement. Her journey was not yet finished. She continued to crawl for roughly 15 more hours with only short breaks periodically to refuel and rewrap her hands and knees.  

And then, after finishing the half marathon, she began again in the heart of Austin at the University of Texas. She took a deep breath and stepped forward—not just as a runner, not just as an advocate, but as a survivor who had reclaimed her own story. 

“Last night [2/16/2025] at 2:00 AM, when I became the first person to ever crawl a half marathon, I felt the helplessness of feeling like I couldn’t take another step. I felt like my knees were going to absolutely shatter. But what I thought about is how much I’ve grown over the last 10 years and how I don’t have to crawl anymore. And so instead of taking my knees being absolutely painful as an obstacle, I decided to take it and turn it into an opportunity. An opportunity to stand tall. And so, this morning when I started the marathon at [mile] 13.1, I was so happy when I looked up across the street and saw the place exactly at 13.1 where I was sexually assaulted 10 years ago. And to be so happy that although the plan was to be on my knees, that I was standing tall and that I was standing tall by my husband and I wasn’t in pain anymore, that I was strong. And so today during the Austin Marathon, I got to live a different metaphor. I got to fly down the downhills and see the ease of life after crawling. I got to be cheered on by all of the people at the marathon and remember all the people that have cheered me on the last 10 years to reclaim my story, to find my voice.”

– Summer Willis 

A Movement for Change 

But Summer’s journey is not just about endurance—it’s about change. She isn’t just running for herself; she’s running for every survivor whose experience has been dismissed, whose voice has been silenced, whose justice has been denied. 

At the heart of The Last Time We Crawl is a campaign for legislative reform—specifically, a push to clearly define consent in Texas law and strengthen policies that protect survivors of sexual violence. Too often, the legal system fails those it is meant to protect, leaving survivors without recourse and perpetrators without accountability. Summer’s mission is to change that. 

Her call for justice has been heard. Four Texas state representatives—Lloyd Doggett, Donna Howard, Ann Johnson, and Vikki Goodwin—stood in solidarity with her campaign, offering their support and even walking alongside her for a portion of the marathon. Their presence was more than symbolic; it was a commitment to action, a pledge to advocate for the legal protections survivors desperately need. 

“It was such an honor for us to join her when she crossed the finish line today. Not only did it complete Summer’s incredible mission, but it symbolized the beginning of a movement with a potential to inspire policy change that will have ripple effects across generations of Texans. Crossing the finish line with Summer also felt like she was passing the torch onto us, at the Texas legislature to protect and empower survivors. This session I intend to work with my colleagues to continue to improve our laws to ensure every survivor has access to the resources and support they need to find justice.”

– Donna Howard, Texas State Representative

Standing with Survivors 

The last miles of the race weren’t just about finishing; they were about transformation. And as Summer crossed the finish line, she carried with her the voices of so many others—the survivors still crawling, still searching for their strength, still waiting for the day they too can stand. 

At SAFE, we know the weight of that journey. Every survivor who walks through our doors is carrying their own version of this marathon—the slow, painful crawl of survival, the hope that one day, standing tall will feel possible and even joyful again. Summer’s journey is a reminder that healing is not linear. That some days, we crawl. But with support, with community, with advocacy that refuses to let injustice go unanswered—we rise. 

“There’s not a lot more I can say about recovery than Summer has said here today with her crawl, other than it can be insurmountable even to reach out for the first person who can even listen or help you after a sexual assault. So, I hope that seeing and hearing the support today can make even one person feel like it’s a little bit easier to not be alone in that. No matter what happened, no matter what the circumstances were or who was there, it was not your fault. You deserve peace and safety, and you don’t have to find those things on your own.”

– Holly Bowles, Director of Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Services, SAFE 

Through her marathon, Summer not only broke records—she broke silence. She raised awareness, funds, and hope. She stood for survivors in the most literal sense, and in doing so, she called on all of us to stand with her. 

This is why SAFE exists. To walk—sometimes crawl—with survivors, until they are ready to rise. Until the weight of their past no longer keeps them down. Until justice, healing, and safety are not distant finish lines, but realities we all fight for together. 

Because this is the last time we crawl. From here on, we rise. 

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To learn more about Summer and all of her amazing achievements visit www.summerwillis.com

To support SAFE through Summer’s campaign visit give.safeaustin.org/The-Last-Time-We-Crawl

If you’ve experienced an unwanted sexual encounter, dating or domestic violence, or sex trafficking, contact SAFE for free resources and specialized care through the confidential, 24-hour SAFEline.  Call: 512–267–SAFE (7233), Text: 737–888–7233, or Chat: safeaustin.org/chat.  

You don’t have to go to a hospital or talk to the police. SAFE can provide free advocacy, forensic exams, and trauma-informed medical care through our clinic, Eloise House. Violence and abuse are never your fault. You are not alone. We are here to help and fulfill our mission to stop abuse for everyone. Se habla español.