A Ballarat grandfather of 11 is preparing to tackle what has been described as Australia's mightiest marathon, all to help children impacted by sexual abuse.
Peter Mahoney will lace up his runners in Perth on June 26 and set off on child protection organisation Bravehearts' 777 Marathon.
Like the name suggests, participants tackle seven consecutive marathons, across seven states, in just seven days.
"It's a gimmick; there's no other way to put it," Mr Mahoney said.
"I'm running seven marathons, silly old bugger, why? So we can spread the word.
"It's not about just helping survivors now; we don't want another lot of survivors in 20 years' time."
Mr Mahoney was abused as a child in his own home by his alcoholic father.
"I moved on from that, but being in Ballarat with its sad history, I knew a lot of people who went through some terrible things," he said.
"I've lost friends who have died by suicide.
"I consider myself very fortunate to have come through it, had my own kids."
Now 61, Mr Mahoney said he was determined to raise awareness about the "insidious crime" that remained shockingly prevalent in Australia.
One in five children are impacted by child sexual abuse, according to the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
"It's a horrible thing. No one wants to talk about it, but we need to," Mr Mahoney said.
He said he was taking on the marathon for the fifth time to promote that conversation and raise money for Bravehearts.
"It's not about individual times or anything like that," Mr Mahoney said.
"It's a very moving, bonding, experience because some are survivors that have been touched by this insidious crime like myself."
A crime shrouded in 'shame'
Bravehearts chief executive Alison Geale said victim-survivors of child sexual abuse continued to struggle to come forward with their stories.
"It is a crime that exists in shame, secrecy and silence," she said.
"You don't need to go far in any family or friendship group in Australia to find someone who's been impacted."
Ms Geale said while organisations such as Bravehearts were doing "tonnes of great work" to bring child sexual abuse out of the shadows, there was a lot more to be done in Australian homes.
She encouraged parents and carers to speak to their children about personal safety.
"Start getting that conversation going; that's how we reduce the stigma — by normalising the conversation, not the crime," Ms Geale said.
