A small group of West Kootenay runners is raising funds for men’s mental health in a very worthy Move for Movember cause.
The number 60 represents an estimate of how many men die from suicide in the world every hour. On Saturday, Nov. 19, a handful of Rossland and Nelson Run Club members will be running more than 60-km from Nelson to Trail to raise awareness and funds for men’s mental health and suicide prevention.
Club member and run captain Neil Farynowski started running for real about two years ago in an effort to raise money for the Move for Movember campaign by covering 60 km in one month.
“I did this not because I loved running but because of the opposite, and if I was going to raise money for charity it should be by doing something difficult,” said Farynowski.
He now averages about 60-km per week with the club, so to ramp up the challenge Farynowski and two other men, Roger Hull and Marc Caruth, will run the whole distance (70 km) in one day. A half dozen other runners will run parts of the trail anywhere between 20 and 42 km, accompanied by a support crew.
“The furthest I’ve ever ran is about 50-k, both the other guys are probably around that range, 40 or 50-k is the furthest any of us have ran before, so it’s going to be a challenge for sure.”
The runners plan to leave Lakeside Park in Nelson at 7 a.m. and will likely encounter snowy and icy trails and cool temperatures over the 10 to 12 hours before they reach Gyro Park in Trail.
“It’s hard to judge conditions,” said Farynowski. “We picked Nov. 19 because that day, back in October, was the only sunny day in November.”
As of Tuesday, the Weather Network called for a high of -1C on Saturday and a low of -7C, with a mix of sun and clouds.
“It’s still suppose to be fairly sunny that day, so we’re hoping that some of the snow might melt, and I know most of the trails down by the river don’t get a ton of snow.”
The Movember movement was originally founded in Australia in 2003, but now with more than 6-million participants, it funds groundbreaking mental health and suicide prevention projects, and continues to raise awareness and funds for prostate and testicular cancer.
The funds raised by Farynowski and running partner, Hull, will also be matched by their employers.
To help the Movember movers reach their goal of $2,500, go to their “Move for Movember 69K Trail Run” page at ca.movember.com. Hover over the “Donate” button, and click on “Find a person or team” and enter: 69K Trail Run. Donations can be made until the end of November.
Follow the group’s progress on the Rossland Run Club’s facebook page.
If someone you care about seems to be going through a tough time, the first step in looking out for them is reaching out and asking are you OK?
For more guidance and information go to conversations.movember.com.
Read: Rossland Run Club hosts fun but challenging event
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