this is my fifth marathon, the fifth year of Chris’s passing – the deep grief of his loss propelled me to sublimate those feelings towards a need to honor Chris’s existence and the impact his life has had on my own life journey. Chris helped me a lot when I was battling my own mental health struggles when I was in early years of high school. “Inner resiliency” and “the power of the mind” are a few words when I think about him. To honor Chris, I decided to try something I thought I could and would never do: run 26.2 miles, a full marathon. This was a challenge, as I hated running when I signed up. I didn’t understand it and the most I’d ever run was maybe 6 miles.
Running has helped me process, heal, and transform not only the passing of Chris’s life, but continues to be a ritual of nurturing for my soul in all of life’s happenings.
Each step I take is for me, is for Chris, and is for any other being that feels they are not worthy of this life, because I want you to know, you are worthy, you are valued, and you are loved. I hope my running can inspire others to push through the pain, the dark moments, the dialogues that we tell ourselves of not being good enough, because there is always light, even if it feels impossible to see in that moment. One step at a time, and we will see the light together.
The organization I am running for:
"Minding Your Mind is dedicated to ending stigma and destructive behaviors associated with mental health issues, moving away from a crisis-based response to prevention through education."
"We use the power of storytelling to provide evidence-based education on mental health challenges to our audiences. Our inspiring programs create safe communication spaces to discuss signs and symptoms often associated with mental health challenges and how to address them."
