The daughter of murdered Kent PCSO Julia James is taking on an ultra-marathon to raise money for a charity tackling violence against women.
Bethan Coles, 36, from Folkestone, will run and walk 53km this weekend – one kilometre for every year of her mother’s life.
Julia, a mum of two and popular police community support officer, was beaten to death in April 2021 by 21-year-old Callum Wheeler while out walking her dog in Snowdown, near Dover.
Her murder was described in court as a sexually motivated attack.
Now, Bethan and 11 friends will complete the endurance challenge on Saturday, starting at Ashford police station and finishing at Folkestone Harbour Arm.
“It’s my mum’s birthday on Wednesday – that’s why we’re doing it on Saturday,” she said.
“I’ve wanted to do something for some time, but nothing’s quite felt the right thing to do.”
Bethan has already raised more than £7,000 for the White Ribbon Trust – a charity working to end violence against women and girls by tackling its root causes.
“I think it’s really, really important to get the word out there, looking at challenging it, the root causes, and doing something positive in my mum’s name,” she said.
Julia, who joined Kent Police as a PCSO in 2008, was based at Canterbury station and had been praised for her dedication to helping victims of domestic violence.
Bethan explained how the idea for the challenge came about during group training sessions.
“My husband owns a CrossFit gym, that’s how we all met,” she said.
“We all started running together. We were running at all times of the day.
“Early in the morning, it was dark, so they reached out for company on their runs because they simply don’t feel safe running alone.
“It just gave them the confidence to go out at times that they wouldn’t go normally.
“Then we were kind of talking about doing something for my mum.”
The ultra-marathon will be a women-only challenge – something Bethan says reflects the message they want to send.
“There aren’t many women who haven’t felt, at some point, vulnerable when they’ve been out and about by themselves,” she said.
“It’s women only who are running it. I think it’s nice that it’s women supporting women.
“It just seems the right thing to do, considering my mum worked supporting women who were victims of domestic abuse.”
The group taking part alongside Bethan includes Cheryl Kelly, Selina Lawrence, Christie Alkin, Danielle Pain, Claire Seamer, Beck Vicary, Annie Hobby, Laura Holley, Kat Barlow, Jerilee Cullen and Jess Robinson.
“I’ve never done a marathon before,” Bethan admitted.
“I’ve trained, I’ve done a lot of CrossFit, but the running is a whole new challenge.
“I can blame my friends for that.
“We couldn’t just do something small, could we? We had to go all in and do 53km.”
Julia James’ death shocked the county and led to an outpouring of grief.
Her killer was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years after being convicted of her murder in July 2022.
