R4R is turning 5!
A guest article from Benny A
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 felt like I’d never find purpose with work. Or teammates that shared my drive.
But a week after Jen called me that, the Dock received an email from a young bloke named Matt Breen asking if we'd help 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 said “yes” and a week later, hosted the first Running for Resilience (R4R).
Now you probably know how big it's got, as we get up to 800 runners across 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) three times. The first was when I retired and my grandma passed away at the same time. 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 my start-up failed again and the Dock had been devastated by the lockdowns.
This was scary and I had some dark thoughts.
But each time, exercising with friends helped me recharge and get through it.
First at parkrun, and then at R4R.
And aside from making it easier for me to stay active, what this community is doing makes me spring out of bed every morning and gives me purpose.
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 haven't come for a while, I hope you come too and bring a mate to celebrate another year of exercising with friends.
A suicide free Canberra is possible.
JUST. KEEP. MOVING.
A day later… Santa Run turns 2!
