Domestic, family and sexual violence advocate Natalie Djuric Jones plans to run 103 marathons in 103 days to remember the 103 women who were murdered in Australia last year.
One of those 103 women was a friend of Natalie’s and one of the very first personal training clients she had back in 2019.
“I saw her three times a week, which is actually quite a lot of time to see a personal trainer,” Natalie tells Women’s Agenda. “We built a really beautiful relationship.”
“She was trying to conceive at the time through IVF, and she’d hired me to help her with her health, hormones, stress management, all of that stuff,” said Natalie, adding that she was “one of the most significant and meaningful clients” she’d ever worked with.
When Natalie’s client eventually fell pregnant, their relationship was close enough that Natalie was the first person she told.
“I remember it so clearly,” says Natalie, who had walked into the gym to meet her for a training session.
“She just looked at me and said ‘I’m pregnant’, and we both just started screaming and jumping up and down. She’s like ‘I haven’t even told my husband yet. You’re the first person’.”
That’s the memory that flooded back to Natalie when one day, she just happened to see her client’s picture on the news, announcing her death.
“Yes, her life is gone, but also it’s completely derailed the life of this innocent child that she did everything in her power to conceive,” Natalie says about the lasting impact of the senseless violence.
In 2024, Australian Femicide Watch recorded that 103 women in Australia were killed by violence. This year already, that number is at 39. Each one of those numbers is a woman taken too soon and whose loss is felt deeply by her community.
After finding out about the death of her friend and client, Natalie was watching the numbers rise of other women murdered and felt that she had to do something to make change.
“I don’t think this [domestic violence] epidemic gets the attention that it deserves. I think it gets swept under the rug,” says Natalie.
The news of her client’s death remained at the forefront of Natalie’s mind, and as she tried to navigate her grief, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to do something to help stop the violence from continuing.
“This is such a big systemic issue to tackle, and I’m just one person, but also, we’ve got to do something,” says Natalie.
The idea for her challenge, to run 103 marathons to raise awareness for the 103 murdered women, felt to Natalie as if it “chose her”, not the other way around.
She’d been out on a normal run last year, reflecting on her client and the fear for safety that far too many women face, when she said things just got put “into perspective”.
“I always say that I didn’t choose to do this,” Natalie says. “It just hit me out of nowhere. Run a marathon for every woman.”
Before that, Natalie had never even run a half marathon, let alone a marathon, so at first, she sat on the idea, thinking it was too crazy.
“I think for two or three days I didn’t tell anyone, but I just was like, ‘okay, I’m going to keep coming back to this,” she says, adding that she just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that this was something she needed to do.
Now, Natalie is less than a month away from beginning the challenge on 18 August, with a goal to raise $200,000 for the ‘What Were You Wearing’ charity organisation, supporting the lives of those experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence.
“Honestly, given that I don’t have a history as a runner- I had only done my first half marathon in December- I’m really happy with the way my body has handled everything,” Natalie says about her training and preparations.
“It’s been really healing. I’ve been able to process a lot of things for myself and come to [gain] a lot of meaning and purpose,” she says.
While 103 marathons is a number large enough to turn heads, for Natalie, she says the most important aspect of this challenge is bringing attention to the 103 murdered women.
“We need to be having conversations around this, because the reality is, it is preventable. It’s not some unfortunate disease or illness or something that is out of our control. It’s very much something that we have the power to change,” Natalie says.
The crisis of domestic violence in Australia can feel like an overwhelming issue to tackle, but for those wanting to step up to help make a change, Natalie urges people to just “go for it”.
“I’ll be the first to say, ‘going for it’ is not comfortable, and it’s not easy, and you put yourself out there, and there’s a lot of things that can go wrong, but I think we need more courageous women and men,” Natalie says.
“We need people who want to put their hand up and say, ‘I’m going to go next, and I’m going to do something’.”
“If you have that intuitive feeling and that gut feeling, take it. Run with it.”
Natalie Djuric Jones’ running challenge, ‘Run for Them’, will go from 18 August to 26 November as she runs 103 marathons for the 103 women lost to men’s violence in 2024 & victim survivors of DFSV all across Australia. To follow along and donate to the cause, check out the ‘Run for Them’ website here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.