Edmonton runners pound pavement to draw attention to gender-based violence

More than 130 people braved the cold Sunday morning in Edmonton to take part in the inaugural Ignore No More run.

The event, held at Gold Bar Park and included three- and 10-kilometre runs, was organized by Mike Cameron, whose girlfriend Colleen Sillito was killed two years ago. Sillito was the victim of an apparent murder-suicide at the hands of an ex-boyfriend.

READ MORE: Murder-suicide in Fort Saskatchewan: Ex-boyfriend shot mom of 5, then himself

Cameron said the event was meant to draw to awareness and open up conversations about gender-based violence and domestic violence.

READ MORE: Mom found dead outside Fort Saskatchewan home ‘seized every moment’: boyfriend

“I think a lot of the problem comes with the stereotypical views of what a real man is. When we’re talking about gender-based violence, it doesn’t start with violence, it starts with attitudes,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think a lot of the problem comes with the stereotypical views of what a real man is. When we're talking about gender-based violence, it doesn't start with violence, it starts with attitudes," he said.

Cameron said there is some danger in men not understanding and exploring their feelings.

RELATED: Edmonton run aims to raise awareness about gender-based violence

“We’re encouraged to suppress our emotions. Men don’t cry – we need to suck it up. I think there’s some perils in that. We make decisions based on emotion, justified by logic. If we don’t understand the underlying emotion that drives the decision, we run into some real trouble there,” he said.

“I’ve got a 17-year-old son who plays football, so for me… that’s where it starts, at home with my son. I’ve got a daughter who will be 15 in December. I want her to understand what will be acceptable, what a healthy relationship looks like, what she should tolerate and what she shouldn’t.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I've got a 17-year-old son who plays football, so for me… that's where it starts, at home with my son. I've got a daughter who will be 15 in December. I want her to understand what will be acceptable, what a healthy relationship looks like, what she should tolerate and what she shouldn't."

READ MORE: Fort Saskatchewan shooting highlights tragedy of domestic violence

Cameron said the past two years have been challenging but he is determined to keep Sillito’s story at the forefront of people’s minds.

“After Colleen was killed, I swore her story would not end there on her driveway.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "After Colleen was killed, I swore her story would not end there on her driveway."

Emily said she was at the run to show support for her brother, who she said is in an unhealthy relationship.

“It’s been about a year. I’m not going to go into details but unthinkable things happen. It’s really sad to just see him change. He’s not the person I knew a couple years ago,” she said.

“He’s in a really rough time of his life right now. I’m just hoping and praying he can be strong enough and have the support and awareness of events like these to leave the situation hopefully one day.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He's in a really rough time of his life right now. I'm just hoping and praying he can be strong enough and have the support and awareness of events like these to leave the situation hopefully one day."

Heidinger said she wants to draw awareness to the fact that men can also be victims of domestic violence at the hands of their partner.

“He feels it’s just normal and it’s okay for a woman to treat him like that. It’s not okay but this happens and it can be talked about and it’s not normal,” she said.

Alicia Balsillie said she participated in the event because of her friendship with Colleen’s daughter.

Balsillie said it is important to have conversations about gender-based violence to break the stigma around that issue.

“I honestly didn’t think that anyone close to me would have gone through that.

“If we are open to talking about it, that we aren’t afraid to talk about [it], then more people will know that it’s actually happening,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If we are open to talking about it, that we aren't afraid to talk about [it], then more people will know that it's actually happening," she said.

The event has raised more than $2,000 for the organization Stop Abuse in Families. You can check out the Ignore No More website here.