Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Bee
Hi Brittany, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Personal Narrative
Brittany Bee Wright
Trigger Warning: This essay discusses child sexual abuse.
On Feburary 28th, 2023, I promised the world that I would Swim, Bike and Run 3000 miles to raise awareness about Child Marriage in the United States. Yes, child marriage is still legal in the U.S. Yes, I was forced by my parents to marry an adult man when I was a minor. But that’s not exactly what I want to share with you. I want to talk about how I use the multisport; Triathlon, to combat my complex PTSD from my child marriage. I want to share my journey overcoming sports injury after several years of training-the “wrong way”, and how I persevered through personal failure to achieve my goals as an athlete while simultaneously raising awareness for my cause.
I decided to Swim, Bike, and run; triathlon, 3000 miles partially because of a man named Christian Griffith. My journey began in January of 2023 in San Diego California, hungover on my couch. Through a horrible migraine I was watching a show called “The Selection” on History, when I was introduced to a man named Christan Griffith. “The Selection” interested me because I served in the military and the show is about 30 civilian volunteers who attempt to complete Navy Seals training. During the intense interrogations by the prior and current navy seals. They asked Christain “Why are you here?” The huge tattooed and bearded seal asked him again, “Why don’t you just quit?” Tears began to leak from Christians eyes. Then he shared his harrowing story of being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I began to cry too. In those moments while he spoke his truth I remembered why I joined the Army years ago. The memories of basic training began flooding back to me. I joined to rebuild the life that child marriage stole from me. I joined to reclaim the pain, the shame, and the self hate. I needed the Army to show me my strength. Strength i had inside me all along. Through my tears I grabbed my phone and researched Christian. What I found brought even more tears to my eyes. Chirstian started the “Run2Heal” campaign where he ran the length of the United States (over 3000 miles) to raise awareness for child abuse prevention. He inspired me. I finished that show, got sober, and started training for a triathlon. My childhood dream.
So, what is triathlon? Traithon is a multi-sport race consisting of swimming, biking, and running in succession. Triathlon is considered to many as one of the most difficult endurance sports if not the most difficult (Olympic History, 2000). Triathlon was invented in San Diego, California, in the 1970’s by the San Diego Track club (Olympic History, 2000). In the summer of 2000, triathlon was recognized worldwide and made its Olympic debut in Sydney Australia (Olympic History, 2000). I started training for a triathlon very slowly. I started off with no gear. I ran in $20 shoes from Ross and a whole lot of anger for what I was put through as a child. My partner, my biggest supporter, gifted me a Garmin Forerunner triathlon watch where I begin tracking my training. I trained for nine months and raced my first triathlon. The San Diego TriClassic. Where I placed 1st in my age group, 16th overall female, and 70th overall racer (Athlinks, 2023). I trained and raced several more triathlons in 2023 – 2024. I have placed in the top 5 each race and 1st place in over 3 races making me eligible for the USAT National ranking. Today I place 157th female triathlete age 25-29 out of 7,901 triathletes in the United States. I qualified for the National Championships, 2024 and 2025, and won 1st place in my age group for all of the San Diego 2024 Triathlon season Koz Events. All while raising awareness for my cause and gaining attention. I have been featured on CBS News Inside edition, Konbini news, Yahoo news, and more. Then everything came to a screeching halt.
It was none other than the dreaded shin splints. It seemed to happen out of nowhere. Nothing was different in my training. I got new shoes, X Rays, even an MRI. Nothing. No broken bones, no torn tendons or ligaments. Just horrible burning throbbing pain in my left shin. In my ignorance, I decided to race the TriClassic again. I wanted to hold my title of 1st place female 25-29. I did not keep my 1st place title. I barely made it through the race placing 2nd in my age group, 9th female overall, and 38th overall racer. Horrifyingly, my shin splint got worse enough for the doctor to force me to rest. I’ll be honest, my body would not carry me one single step without sharp stinging pain. I tried compression, athletic tape, orthopedic massage, the cupping technique, and the Graston technique known as ‘scraping’ (Cheatham et al., 2016). I sacrificed several races including a half marathon. My mental health began to decline as the weeks passed with no change in the pain and no training. I relapsed during this time and faced the guilt and shame associated with it. This is when I realized I needed to face my failure. Losing the race wasn’t what made me a failure. It was a deliberate action to disrespect my body and what it was telling me. I needed to confront my own hand in my suffering.
During this time I decided to turn inward and practice self reflection. I learned about the effects the military had on my body, particularly my feet. As it turns out, the majority of the muscles in my feet and lower legs were not functioning properly. A result of wearing cowhide army boots for 7 years. I decided to drop my ego and ask for help. I found a strength trainer who specializes in physical therapy and sports injury. She happens to also be the lifting partner to California’s strongest woman 2024 Jennie Roberts. She has been helping me heal my feet through the off season. It has been some of the most eye opening and painful growth I have experienced since the Army. I hired a professional triathlon coach who monitors my training load and critiques my form, and performance. He has helped over 170 athletes qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. A race I dream to compete in as an elite athlete.
In Bad Ideas About Writing, Allison Carr states “Failure is integral to learning and development, more so than external markers of achievement or success.” (Ball et al., 2017). My failure helped me understand my body better. It helped show me that it’s ok to ask for help. It’s ok to fail, but it’s never ok to hurt yourself. An athlete’s journey is never easy. A child abuse survivors journey through healing is never easy. It takes grit, it takes humility, and it takes trying again. Carol Dweck discusses the concept “trying” as the growth mindset by praising focus and effort rather than the overall outcome in her TedX Talk; The Power of Believing You Can Improve (Dweck, C. 2014). I continue to strive for improvement in healthy ways and that includes trying and failing. By sharing my story I have raised awareness enough to gather thousands of caring people and other survivors. I have received so much love and hope for the future. I’ve been given the opportunity to testify in the New Hampshire legislative hearing to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years-old with no exceptions. I continue to train while using my voice to amplify those who have been silenced. I still haven’t raced again. But I know when I do I’ll be stronger; mind, body, and soul.
Works Cited:
Cheatham, S. W., Lee, M., Cain, M., & Baker, R. (2016, September). The efficacy of Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization: A systematic review. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5039777/
Dweck, C. (2014, November). The power of believing that you can improve. Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
Griffith, C. (2009). Christian Griffith’s athletic resume and running history. RUN2HEAL. https://run2heal.org/christian-griffith-runner-resume
Loewe, D. M., & Carr, A. D. (2017). Bad Ideas About Writing. Bad Ideas About Writing | Open Access Textbooks | WVU Libraries. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/
Triathlon: Olympic history, rules, latest updates and upcoming events for the olympic sport. www.olympics.com. (2000). https://www.olympics.com/en/sports/triathlon/
Wright, B. (2024). Athlinks. San Diego Triathlon Classic . https://www.athlinks.com/event/30278/results/Event/1088587/Results
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Married Children are a hidden population. Those of us who have experienced it go virtually unseen and unheard. In California, today, it is legal to marry a minor of ANY AGE. With the legal justification of “parental consent.” It is estimated that 22 kids a day in CA are married as children. Child marriage means ANY child under the age of legal adulthood. Meaning that teenagers are considered children and as such they are subject the same legal vice as any younger child placed into a marriage. They cannot access divorce. They cannot access healthcare. They cannot access a DV shelter. They cannot sign a lease, retain a lawyer, or even go to school without the permission of their legal guardian who in over 70% of cases are legal adult men wed to minor girls as young as 10 years old.
I lived this reality. I have personally experienced being trapped in a marriage as a teen to an adult man who committed crimes against me and served no time at all because my parents chose to hide me away under the legally binding contract of a marriage license.
I race triathlon in San Deigo (the home of triathlon) not to forget the pain I carry but to carry the pain of all the kids through the nation whose rights have been stripped from them via “parental consent” and “judicial consent.”. The kids who have been manipulated in signing a contract they do not understand. The girls who have been statutory raped and forced to carry pregnancies with their adult abusers. The women who have stayed in their abusive marriages because they were forced to have children as teens without full informed consent. I race for the 11-year-old boy in Tennessee married to 36-year-old women with 4 kids. I race for the little girls who are trafficked for their US citizenship. I race for my childhood self. I race so my own daughter will grow up in a safer world.
We all must acknowledge the horrors of child marriage in the US. I WILL NEVER STOP RAISING MY VOICE ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
Videos on my story:
CSB News Inside Edition Brittany Bee Child Marriage
Konbini Child Marriage
Citations to consider:
Aditi Wahi, Kristen L. Zaleski, Jacob Lampe, Patricia Bevan & Alissa Koski (2019): The Lived Experience of Child Marriage in the United States, Social Work in Public Health, DOI: 10.1080/19371918.2019.1575312
Kaya Van Roost, Miranda Horn, Alissa Koski, Child Marriage or Statutory Rape? A Comparison of Law and Practice Across the United States, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 70, Issue 3, Supplement, 2022, Pages S72-S77,ISSN 1054-139X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.023.
Lawson, David W., et al. “What Does the American Public Know about Child Marriage?” PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 9, Sept. 2020, pp. 1–12. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0238346.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Triathlon is arguably one of the most intense endurance sports out there. Triathlon is really just ego training. Learning about yourself, your abilities, your limits, and your perseverance. The consistency and discipline are what makes a triathlete great. The willingness to ask for help, join groups, relearning techniques, failing, and knowing when to rest.
I wish I hired my wonderful coach, Melissa Valdez, much sooner. Athletes need coaches to keep them safe and strong. It’s worth every penny.
I didn’t truly recognize or understand the depth of what happened to me until 2019 when I was 23-24 years old. I was Diagnosed officially with PTSD in 2023, but it took many years of deconstructing the layers of shame I carried. This is another reason why Child Marriage in the US goes unseen. Survivors like me are not always capable of using their voice and speaking out against this barbaric practice. The United Nations classified child marriage as a human rights abuse. So, my advice to the other survivors out there is heal. You deserve space and time to heal, and when you’re ready, come join the fight.
Contact Info:
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@_brittany_bee__
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_brittany_bee__/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089266209444
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_Brittany_Bee__
- Other: https://linktr.ee/brittanybee3000?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=1bd097f7-9658-4156-957e-0e7654ca8804
Image Credits
Brittany Bee
San Diego Koz Events
