Shaun McIlfatrick ran 311km from Seville, Vic to Corowa to raise money and awareness for Full Stop Australia against domestic violence.
Shaun McIlfatrick loves his sister Jade, and watching her go through and escape domestic violence inspired him to take action.
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Shaun has raised money and awareness for Full Stop Australia, by running from Seville in Victoria’s Yarra Valley to Corowa.
Over seven days he ran 311.7km, running 50km each day for six days, finishing in Corowa on Saturday with the Ball Park Parkrun being the last 5km.
Jade McIlfatrick was proud of her big brother for his 311km run, which she described as “an enormous achievement in itself,” and the heart he put into every single kilometre.
She said what made his achievement more special was he’d chosen a cause deeply personal to her after witnessing her and her children live through family violence.
“During that period, I know he felt helpless at times,” Jade said.
“But when I finally left, with little more than a few suitcases for myself and my kids, he was an absolute rock.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Shaun, and I will never forget the love and support he gave us when we needed it most.”
Full Stop Australia is a national organisation providing free, 24/7 trauma‑specialist counselling and support for people affected by sexual, domestic, and family violence.
Founded in the early 1970’s, Full Stop began as the Sydney Rape Crisis Collective and has since grown into a national service supporting people of all genders.
It remains one of the country’s leading organisations dedicated to ending sexual, domestic, and family violence.
Shaun said, as kids, his family visited Corowa every year for family holidays so he chose the town as the destination for his fundraising run, dubbed ‘Project Corowa’.
“My sister escaped a domestic violence situation, and I watched how hard that was to go through,” Shaun said.
“I wanted to figure out a way to help people get out of these relationships; Full Stop does that.
“Last year I did Ned's Uncomfortable Challenge, and I liked it, it really challenged me.
“I wanted to do something else but do it myself; that’s when I came up with the idea to run to Corowa.”
Shaun ran in darkness, sunshine and rain to complete his epic journey in seven days, finishing at Ball Park Parkrun in Corowa.
He said the first seven to 10km each day were the hardest, but somewhere in the middle he found a groove and kept running.
With no shoulder on the roads for most of his run, passing traffic would move around him as he strode the white line, give him a wave and move on.
“I couldn't believe how well the human body recovers on the run,” Shaun said.
“All the locals around here, all the trucks and cars, have been amazing.
“It's just sinking in this morning; it was a bit surreal when I got here because it’s been my focus for the last six months.
“I'm proud of myself because every day, for each of those 50km's, I was digging deeper than I've had to before.”
Shaun was surrounded by family after crossing the finish line at Ball Park Parkrun and congratulated for his efforts by participants and spectators.
He has so far raised more than $4,000 for Full Stop Australia from Project Corowa and is hoping to push that number to $5,000.
Shaun’s sister Jade said she was proud her brother had turned her experience with domestic violence into something positive.
Shaun logged his journey on Instagram and Facebook in a tapestry of emotional posts that chronicled each day of his feat in darkness, sunshine and rain.
People can donate to Shaun’s cause at https://fundraise.fullstop.org.au/shaun-mcilfatrick.
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