Canowindra News : Kirrily on track in 1300 kilometre effort

Ultra marathon runner Kirrily Dear is running 1300 kilometres from Broken Hill to Sydney to raise awareness of family violence.

Ms Dear arrived in Orange on Monday, after a night in Canowindra, her run having crawled to a walk as nearly two weeks of running takes its toll on her body.

“It’s getting tough now, coming up to 1000 kilometres in the legs, and the last two days have been reduced to walking which is making for very long days,” she said.

“But the determination’s there so we’ll make it happen. On the way we’ve been engaging with local communities about family violence prevention and the role everyone within the community can play in starting a conversation. It’s about removing the stigma and reaching out to help.”

She said she’d been encouraged by warm acceptance along the way.

She said the 1300km represented 1.7 million steps, or one step for each Australian child impacted by family violence. Ms Dear stopped off at Orange High School on Monday night to talk about family violence.