To 'run like a girl' is to run for your life. Kara Robinson's story proves it.

We've all heard it. That tired, sexist insult meant to diminish and belittle: "You run like a girl."

We know what it means. To be slow, weak, fragile, not good enough. We also know it couldn't be further from the truth.

A powerful new TikTok trend is turning that phrase on its head, showing exactly what running "like a girl" really means — and it's anything but weak.

The trend features clips of women literally running for their lives set to Paris Paloma's haunting song 'Labour'.

A young girl fleeing her abductor in 3096 Days, based on the true story of Natascha Kampusch; the woman who got away from serial killer Rodney Alcala in Woman of the Hour; and scenes from The Girl Who Escaped, showing actress Katie Douglas portraying Kara Robinson fleeing her captor.

But it's not just fictional. Real women and girls are sharing their stories of how running like a girl saved their lives.

Because to run like a girl is to survive.

No one knows this more so than Kara Robinson Chamberlain. Kara isn't just a character. She's a real woman with an extraordinary story of survival.

Watch the "run like a girl" TikTok trend. Post continues below.

Kara's survival story.

In the early hours of June 24, 2002, 15-year-old Kara was watering plants in the front garden of a friend's house in South Carolina when a car pulled into the driveway.

Out hopped, Richard Evonitz. He seemed harmless and friendly, wearing jeans, a button-down shirt and a baseball cap. Richard offered Kara some pamphlets and asked if her parents were home.

"I said, 'Well, this isn't my house. This is my friend's house'," Chamberlain recalled to People in 2022. "And he said, 'Okay, well, what about her parents ... are her parents home?' And I said, 'No, her mum's not home right now'."

Within moments, what seemed like a nothing interaction turned into every woman's nightmare — Richard held a gun to Kara's neck and forced her into a large storage bin in the backseat of the car.

A young Kara Robinson Chamberlain. Image: Instagram/kararobinsonchamberlain.

He gagged her, cuffed her hands and drove her to his appartment. For 18 hours, Kara endured unimaginable trauma. But then she did what girls and women have always done when faced with danger — she fought. She survived. She ran.

While her captor slept, Kara freed herself from handcuffs and leg restraints, quietly unbolted two locks, and fled. She didn't just escape — she later helped police identify Richard, who was discovered to be responsible for at least three other murders.

More than just a trend.

Now, twenty years later, Kara has responded to seeing her story become part of this viral moment.

Her message to survivors is clear and compassionate:

"If you didn't or couldn't run, that doesn't mean you're not strong enough. If you ran, you made it. You can stop running," she said on TikTok.

"You are not alone."

@kararobinsonchamberlain

My love letter to the runners 🤍 . . Run like a girl trend #mystory #thegirlwhoescaped #runlikeagirl

♬ LABOUR - the cacophony - Paris Paloma

Kara urged survivors to find that glimmer of hope and hold onto it.

"You won't always feel traumatised. You will find people that make you feel safe again. You are not defined by what happened," she said.

"What happened wasn't your fault, but the healing is your responsibility. You CAN heal. Time doesn't heal all wounds, but you can.

"Life will be beautiful again."

Kara Robinson Chamerblain wants others to know they're not alone. Instagram/kararobinsonchamberlain.

It's powerful to see women reclaiming strength in "running like a girl", but there's a darker truth here: this trend shouldn't need to exist.

The sheer volume of women commenting that they relate to these stories of running for their lives speaks to a shocking reality.

There shouldn't be so many of us with such similar stories to tell.

Stories of running from danger — from dark streets, from following cars, from men who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Yes, women are strong enough to run for their lives. We just shouldn't have to.

Feature image: Instagram/kararobinsonchamberlain.