R4R turns 5!
And the time my wife called me lost
18 months after I retired, my wife called me lost.
I’d split with the co-founder of a start-up I’d gone all-in on, and thought I’d never find purpose with work again.
But a week after Jen called me that, the Dock received an email from a young bloke named Matt Breen asking if we'd host a one-off run for mental health.
Breeny had lost his dad to suicide, his mum was dying of cancer, and wanted to help people going thru tough times.
So we replied “yes”, hosted the first Running for Resilience (R4R) a week later, and it’s never stopped.
Now you probably know it's gotten pretty big, as we get up to 800 runners a week.
But what you might not know is that it’s helped me as much as anyone.
Retirement has been tough, and I’ve hit rock bottom (or come close) at least three times. The first was when I retired and my grandma passed away. The second was when my start-up failed for the third time. And the worst by far, came at the end of the pandemic when I was depressed after the start-up failed again, and the Dock had been devastated by the lockdowns.
That time was scary and I had some very dark thoughts.
But each time, exercising with friends helped me recharge to get through it.
First at parkrun, then at R4R.
Aside from making it easier for me to be active when I don’t feel like exercising, what the R4R community is doing to save lives makes me spring out of bed every morning in hope I can help make a difference.
And today R4R turns 5, and next Wednesday we’re celebrating.
If you're thinking of coming for the first time, I hope you join us.
And if you have come, but not for a while, I hope you come too and bring a mate to celebrate another year of exercising with friends for better physical and mental health.
A suicide free Canberra is possible.
JUST. KEEP. MOVING.