Ultramarathon runner Kirrily Dear is stepping out on her longest run yet – more than 1300km.
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On Wednesday morning, Dear will lace up her runners in Broken Hill, and hit the road to Sydney.
A lot has happened in the three years since Dear ran her first ultramarathon, which finished in Forbes, raising awareness of family and domestic violence.
She is returning to Forbes this run, arriving at Forbes Show between midday and 1pm to do a lap of the racetrack with her support runners.
On that first run, Kirrily got to hear stories and realise the scope of domestic violence. She also got to see the impact she could have as a runner.
Out of that, the charity Run Against Violence was born and has grown.
“We have seen a huge benefit in running as a tool for community engagement,” Ms Dear said on Friday as she travelled to Broken Hill.
One of the ways you can be involved this time is by signing up to the virtual challenge – teams of up to 10 people can race Kirrily across the Ultramarathon course.
Your team will be challenged to accumulate 1300km within 18 days and 3 hours starting on Wednesday, when Kirrily leaves Broken Hill at 7am AEST, and as a team completing the distance before Kirrily arrives at the Opera House steps on Sunday September 17 at 10am.
By Friday afternoon, more than 170 teams had signed up to the virtual challenge, more than three times the number Kirrily had hoped for.
“It’s clear that people want to be able to engage with family violence prevention,” she said.
Kirrily said people have become “so much more open to the conversation” in the years since the first run.
And that, she believes, is absolutely critical to helping people ask for help.
“Where we focus is starting the conversation, that removes the stigma and the social barriers,” Kirrily said.
“It normalises talking about it so people who have experienced it feel more comfortable and will reach out for help sooner.”
When more people in the community are better informed, they know how to respond, they can be prepared to help someone in a family violence situation.
“We create a positive and constructive environment for people who are recovering,” Kirrily added.
“They know that people care and know how to support them and that is when they can move from surviving to thriving.”
Kirrily will depart Broken Hill on Wednesday and run up to 12 hours a day.
She is scheduled to arrive in Forbes on Show day – September 9 – before she heads for Sydney. Somewhere between Forbes and Canowindra she will set a personal record for distance run.
“My focus has been on mental preparation,” she said.
“Over the past nine months I’ve been doing a lot of things outside the familiar, that have redefined my comfort zone, to build resilience.
“There’s only a certain amount of fitness – it’s mentally being able to deal with pain and exhaustion.”
For more information or to sign up for the virtual challenge go to runagainstviolence.com
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