Running 4 Resilience has two new events, bringing its weekly count to six. Photo: Ellie Tonkin.
The runaway success of award-winning Canberra mental health running group Running 4 Resilience (R4R) has resulted in two new events.
A new 6 pm run takes place every Thursday. But rather than starting from The Dock, this bridge-to-bridge 5 km loop starts at its sister venue, The Jetty, on Queen Elizabeth Terrace.
About 90 participants came to the first run – a solid start, according to R4R co-founder, former Wallabies & ACT Brumbies player and co-owner of The Dock, Ben Alexander.
“It was a great turnout and showed there was a need,” he says.
R4R’s new Thursday 8:30 am run is also now in full swing at a new venue – University of Canberra’s (UC) Coffee Grounds Cafe.
The two events bring R4R’s weekly event count to six.
With close to 600 runners gathering at 6 pm of a Wednesday at The Dock, expansion was inevitable. It started as a few mates joining founder Matt Breen as he used exercise to pull through a tough time following the death by suicide of his father and death of his mother from ovarian cancer.
Ben says the goal of the expansion is two-fold – to ease some of the congestion on the wildly popular Wednesday night event and to take a step closer to making Canberra “suicide free by 2033”.
“We think we need more opportunities for people to exercise with friends,” he says. “That’s what had been working so well on Wednesday nights and Monday and Friday mornings at the foreshore.”
The wildly popular Wednesday night event attracts crowds nearing 600 to The Dock. So operators have been keen to support expansion of the cause. Photo: Parisa Adatfar.
Much like The Dock, which has collaborated with R4R from the beginning, UC has thrown its support firmly behind the cause. It not only provides a location for a new run but also academic resources to help fuel the R4R mission.
Three UC communications students are completing their social media internships with the group; the university has also pledged to conduct research into the root of the community’s success.
“We hope to get some scientific evidence to prove what we’re feeling and why this is such a big part of so many people’s weeks,” Ben says.
“I know for my part R4R really helped me navigate through my retirement from sport and the impacts of lockdowns on The Dock. This community has helped me as much as anyone.”
Ben says data and analyses will help the R4R community articulate its potential. But he’s in no doubt as to the formula for its success.
“Everyone knows exercise is good for mental health, hanging out with friends is good for mental health. R4R is doing both at the same time every week,” he says.
“No matter how busy people get or how overwhelming life can be, at 6 pm every Wednesday they can rock up, no registration required, run or walk with friends, and count on a good time.”
Runnings 4 Resilience meets at The Dock Mondays at 6:15 am (run or walk), Wednesdays at 6 pm (run or walk), Thursdays at 10:30 am (stroller friendly) and Fridays at 6:15 am (run or walk). Or join its new events at Coffee Grounds Cafe at UC Thursdays at 8:30 am and The Jetty Thursdays at 6 pm.
Loading ...
