Christine Smith knows the horrible feelings that follow being punched, kicked and spat on.
"I married young at 18. I didn't know violence or fear before that," said Ms Smith, now 61, of Lake Macquarie.
"My mum and dad weren't like that. I never saw Dad be violent to anyone.
"I married a man who grew up in a house of domestic violence. His dad used to bash his mum."
Ms Smith is captain of a team of runners called "Willie Makit" in the Run Against Violence, which begins this month.
The run began in 2017 when Kirrily Dear ran 1300km from Broken Hill to Sydney in 19 days to give a voice to the silent victims of family violence.
Ms Dear started the run after "a child walked up to me and described the violence they lived with at home".
Now teams walk or jog together over 19 days, collectively covering the distance, while raising awareness and starting conversations.
The Willie Makit team of 13 people chose Newcastle women's refuge Jenny's Place as a beneficiary of its fundraising.
Ms Smith, a nurse at Belmont Hospital emergency department, said running helped her mental health.
"I feel like your mind is relaxed. You don't really think about anything. It's an outlet," she said.
She said the team members inspire each other to run up to 15km a day.
"I always think get in and get it done," she said.
She said it was good that domestic violence was spoken about publicly now.
"It used to be a shameful thing. The women bore the shame, not the man," she said.
"The man would have an excuse - 'you made me do it, you made me cranky'. That's not acceptable now," she said.
When Ms Smith's first husband attacked her, her mother-in-law would say, 'What do you do to make him unhappy?"
She advised her to "make him a cup of tea, don't ask him questions and don't upset him".
"My mother-in-law used to say, 'things will change' and 'you made your bed, you lie in it'."
She said alcohol was a big thing in their family, which she believed was a factor in the violence.
Ms Smith said she "suffered for a long time".
She had two boys and a daughter with her first husband.
"When the children came along, my eldest son, then aged four, started to laugh when his dad spat at me," she said.
"I thought 'nope, this has to stop now'. I didn't want my kids to grow up and think this is normal. I didn't want the boys to think this is how you handle yourself," she said.
She said her first husband would punch her, pull her hair and kick her shins.
"I got bit many times. He bit my nose once," she said.
"I rang the police one day out of the blue. The mother-in-law blamed me and said 'now you'll get divorced for sure', to which I said 'well that's fine'."
She said the family tried to get her to drop the charges.
"I did try, but the police said no," she said.
Her first husband was convicted of assault and placed on a good behaviour bond.
She left the marriage and took the kids at age 25.
She was concerned that exposing her children to domestic violence would lead to it being replicated.
"I've raised the two boys and neither of them have been violent towards partners. And my daughter is very strong in herself. I'm really proud of them," she said.
"We moved to Newcastle and I went to university to study nursing. I have a great life."
She urged other victims to leave violent partners.
"You don't need to stay. There's a better life out there. You can make it on your own," she said.
More information is at runagainstviolence.com/
