Conrad Burns poses at Mile 0, his final stop on the 7,400-kilometre Rise Up National Walk. Photo courtesy Conrad Burns, Facebook.
A Cree Prince Albert man has completed a 7,400-kilometre walking trek across Canada to rise up against domestic violence.
In the four month walk, Conrad Burns has gone through 10 pairs of shoes, and walked 25 million steps from St. John, NFLD to the west coast.
On Monday, he ended it in Victoria, BC with help from three women – two of them friends and one, his mother.
Burns’ message of recognizing abuse and taking steps to end it comes from his own experience in abusive relationships.
Burns said the walk taught him that everything is possible as long as you’re willing to make sacrifices to see it through.
“I gave up my life in Prince Albert, I gave up my life with my friends and going out for coffee and everything else. I gave myself to the road and to the cause, and it’s wonderful to achieve it so I can go back to my life,” he said.
There have been major struggles along the way.
“Halfway through the walk, leaving Ottawa, I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it because I ran out of money and didn’t know how I was going to continue on. But through a lot of supporters and great friends and family members, it was accomplished.”
Some of the challenges Burns faced were self-imposed. This includes buying a headlamp and walking into the night during his final stretch, with the goal of walking for 24 hours straight.
“You’re never more isolated until you’re alone in the dark, right? It’s good to challenge myself like that,” he said.
“I always suffered from overactive imagination so when something went bump in the night I always imagined the worst out of it. So I had to learn to be comfortable with myself so I could achieve that walk.”
Burns had friends and strangers join him along the way who helped him spread the message that domestic violence is too common, and needs to stop.
That extra company also drove away some of the loneliness of such a long journey, he said.
Even while Burns was in British Columbia, he was influencing people back home.
Saskatoon woman Felishia Montgrand and a friend posted a video message on the Rise up Walk’s Facebook page after taking up a challenge Burns issued. They walked for four hours and admitted even that was a physical challenge.
“We just respect you for what you’re doing and what you stand for. Rise up, end abuse,” Montgrand said.
Now, Burns wants to start groups similar to alcoholics anonymous for victims and abusers to recover.