TWO of local family violence practitioner Maddi Tobias' biggest passions will combine next month as she joins Centre Against Violence Wangaratta's (CAV) team in the Wangaratta Chronicle Marathon and Fun Run.

Working at The Orange Door on Reid Street and as a CAV family violence practitioner, Maddi receives referrals from police, child protection or clients themselves who are seeking support for family violence and offers them the extra support they need.

Always looking for ways to take her work values into her hobbies, Maddi’s for sport, and in particular running, served as an ideal motive to jump on board with Team CAV.

On March 17, Maddi will be taking part in the 10km run backing up her efforts from last year, with the goal of helping raise awareness of CAV's services and make a community stand on family and sexual violence through the healthy and connected activity.

Having been a part of Team CAV last year, Maddi said it was a rewarding experience and with Team CAV going bigger and better this year, she's only more eager to go around the track a second time.

“It was awesome to don the CAV shirt and represent them in doing something that I love, which is running and the social element of running as well in a community event so I’m pretty keen,” she said.

Maddi is a regular runner with her local run club at Wodonga and takes part in parkrun every week.

“I’ve been wearing my CAV shirt most weeks when I do parkrun, I don’t get as many conversations as I would like out of it but I know I’ve got the ‘everyone deserves to be safe’ slogan on my back and that’s kind of a cool thing to represent and have people read that when I run in front of them,” Maddi said.

Maddi has taken part in an expansion of the Team CAV brand, joining the inaugural team at Albury-Wodonga’s City 2 City Marathon and Fun Run.

The ex-premier division cricketer said sport has always been an outlet of positive community connection for her and she has already encouraged a group of her Wodonga run club counterparts to join the cause.

“It’s an opportunity to be a part of the community, a community event that’s not work but an opportunity to have conversations and redirect negativity around women's experiences with violence or sexual abuse so I always try and represent CAV values when I’m in the community as well,” she said.

“My passion outside of work is physical activity and a perfect way to connect with people and bring people in and have conversation where you’re just not sitting one-on-one but having some of the modality to have conversations.”

To learn more and register for the Wangaratta Chronicle Marathon and Fun Run – head to https://www.wangarattamarathon.com.au/ or to learn more about Team CAV – head to www.centreagainstviolence.org.au.