An event at the University of Canterbury has raised more than $85,000 for men’s mental health.
The 72-hour “runathon” – called Run72 – was held on the campus from Tuesday to Friday.
It is the fifth year that the organiser Lads Without Labels has hosted the event. The not-for-profit charity’s co-president Oscar Bloom said it was the biggest one yet.
“It was record-breakingly large,” he said. “Every year Run72 has gotten bigger, and this year was no exception.”
More than 3000 people took part in the event, with a collective 75,000km ran – “which said a lot about our community, and our kaupapa, and people’s belief, and yearning, for strong mental health care, and a different view of masculinity, and getting help”.
Bloom said there were at least 40 people on the track throughout the 72-hour event.
“Our final lap, gosh, I don’t even know how many it was, but I’d estimate, you know, at least 500 people.
“We get a big photo at the end of every year, so you can really see the difference – from the first year to the fifth one.
“It was just massive, and, you know, it’s the most amazing thing when everyone finishes that final lap.
“It’s a really emotional experience, but it’s also such, like, a profound shared experience. I think, for people on campus, feeling that connection that is sometimes really difficult to find.”
Bloom said Run72 began to bring awareness to the statistic that 72% of suicides were by men – a number which has since increased to 76.
New Zealand also has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the OECD, he said.
“We’re putting in the mahi, and we’re still, you know, needing to find unique and different ways to meet people where they are, and focus on a peer-support-driven model that kind of goes to people rather than asking them to come to us.”
Outside of Run72, Lads Without Labels also run Flat Chats – a dinner at a “randomly chosen flat” once a week, discussing strategies to improve students’ mental health in an informal discussion – as well as Life Skills with Lads, and the Ugly Boys Running Club.
“It’s getting people into that really comfortable space so we can also give them support, and refer them to support,” Bloom said.
By Pretoria Gordon of rnz.co.nz