Meet our Founder
Robert Reed OAM

There is something special about participating in Darkness to Daylight. Being out running in the dark of night, carrying a candle that represents lives lost to domestic and family violence, knowing that every kilometre I cover represents one of those lives, seeing other people out there in the Darkness to Daylight shirts all participating in different ways (and now, in the days of virtual, in different places) but all part of a community wanting to put an end to the violence.

Often in the middle of my run I reach a point where I feel like I can't go on. I'm tired, my legs ache, my stomach hurts, it's dark and it's cold and I'm sick of the circuit. Sometimes I come to a full stop. But then I remember who we are running for.

People who go through nights much worse than this, night after night, and not by choice. For me, the pain and isolation will end in the morning and I can rest. And so I take a deep breath and carry on.

I wanted Darkness to Daylight to be an event which raised awareness about domestic and family violence in the community and raise funds for the great work of Challenge DV. But more than that. Based on my learnings from my participation in Sacred Run 1995, I wanted this to be about running for a reason and with the cause embodied in every aspect of the run itself. To give people the opportunity to experience something unique and special and do something physical and meaningful about domestic and family violence prevention. To challenge people to do more than they ever have before – whether that's a 110km run or a 3km walk – and to do that for the right reasons and in such a way that each person gains a deeper understanding of the issue of domestic and family violence.

I hope people have fun participating in Darkness to Daylight but that the conversations about the experience and the meaning of the run echo across the world until there is an end to the pandemic that is domestic and family violence.

- Robert Reed OAM, Founder of Darkness to Daylight