Running across Australia has become something of a craze for people looking to push their limits and attempt ‘the impossible’.
Most people with their eye on the ultra running world have heard of Chris Turnbull and Nedd Brockmann– the two adventurous men who’ve made a name for themselves by running from Perth to Sydney.
Turnbull currently holds the world record for covering the nearly 4,000km journey in 39 days. And Brockmann did it in 47 days. Both of them were running around 100 kms per day, which are pretty mind-blowing achievements.
Looking to top these feats, Fran Hurndall will take on the challenge in September as the first ever woman to do so. She’ll be running from Perth to the Sydney Opera House in just 34 days, covering an average of 110 km per day.
“Just to be a little bit different, obviously, I added the extra 10 on,” Hurndall tells Women’s Agenda.
“And that’s just even more craziness because when you get to 100, you’re going to be in pain anyway.”
A professional athlete and former football player, Hurndall is no stranger to the pain and grit required to achieve a world record in this kind of endurance challenge. In 2023, she set a Guinness World Record by dribbling a soccer ball from the Gold Coast to Sydney to raise money for national advocacy body, Women’s Sport Australia, covering a distance of approximately 1,000km in 32 days.
“It’s a scary place to not know the feeling of what your body’s going to go for,” Hurndall says about the mental strength it takes to attempt a previously unachieved feat.
“Obviously, I can only do so much prep without straining my body and getting an injury. You’re headed into the unknown.”
“But I know my body’s gonna hurt, so it’s just going to be physically putting one foot in front of the other,” she says. “I’ve got this weird thing that I do, when I’m running, I’ll sort of rub my belly and just thank my body for carrying me the distance.”
Joining Hurndall along the way will be a support crew, including her partner and a physio as well as a couple people prepared to make food on the hour for the 7000 calories she’ll be burning, on average.
And because she’ll be running through the middle of Australia, around 46 per cent of the route is unpaved, so planning will need to be flexible.
It’s nothing short of a transformational challenge but Hurndall says she’s prepared to lean in and grow from whatever comes of this journey.
“We learn from putting ourselves in such uncomfortable situations that, you know, I’m sort of willing to let my soul be broken for it to be rebuilt,” Hurndall says.
“I know that I’ll come back an even stronger person.”
Shining a light on domestic violence
Not only is Hurndall about to be the first woman to attempt this epic challenge, running across the country, she’s also doing it to support an urgent cause: domestic violence.
Australia is in the midst of a domestic violence crisis, with 44 women killed already this year alone. Last year it was 64, according to Destroy the Joint.
The statistics are staggering, with around 1 in 4 women having experienced domestic and family violence. And, on average, one woman a week is killed by her intimate partner.
According to the ABS, 23 percent of Australian women reported having experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner or ex partner since the age of 15.
Behind her motivation to enact change, Hurndall has seen first-hand the devastating impacts that come from domestic violence. Last year, Hurndall learned that her younger sister had been suffering from domestic violence, while trying to raise a child.
“We had no idea,” says Hurndall.
“I sat down with my sister, and she showed me photos of what she’d been through while raising a child, who was only three or four at the time. And I just remember her saying to me, ‘I thought I was going to die at one point’.”
“That literally just changed my whole perception on life,” Hurndall says, noting that she’s “fortunate” her sister is still around when there are other people out there that don’t get that opportunity to access support.
It’s for this reason that Hurndall has taken it upon herself to raise $1 million for domestic violence awareness across Australia.
Her initiative is called Reach Out Speak Up, and it’s raising the money for RizeUp Australia, a charity that helps victim-survivors set up new homes, as well as Share the Dignity, a charity supporting victim-survivors who need access to period products.
When things start to get tough on her run, Hurndall says that’s when she’ll remember her purpose for the challenge, saying “It’s about digging deep and just thinking about all those people– the victims that have been through domestic violence.”
“I just really want to be able to be that sort of beacon of light for people that are going through domestic violence, and to just let them know that help is on the way.”
Fran Hurndall’s journey begins at 7am on the 20th of September. She’ll run 110 kilometers per day, for 34 days, which will get her to Sydney Opera House on the 23rd of October as long as everything goes to plan.
Supporters can follow along with her journey on Instagram. There will also be an interactive map available for tracking the run on her website.