UW Run for Mental Health

The University of Waterloo Run for Mental Health took place on June 8^th and saw what was arguably the deepest field ever assembled for a two-lap race around Ring Road. Within a few steps of the start, it was clear that the winner would be former Waterloo Warrior and 2009 Canadian Marathon Champion Stephen Drew. He immediately put a large gap between himself and the rest of the field on his way to covering the roughly 5.3 km course in 16’51”. Charles Allan, a 2B Mechanical Engineering student, headed up the chase pack of Warrior Cross-Country athletes, crossing the line in 17’22”. The top five was rounded out by Devon Briggs (17’57”), who outran 1B Environmental Engineering student Michael Stewart (18’06”) and Lawrence Xie (19’42”). The first female finisher was Leslie Gray, a Masters Environmental Engineering student, who ran a 21’47” on injured legs. Everyone ran really well considering the conditions, which were high heat and humidity. Even the volunteers handing out water easily broke a sweat.

This marked the sixth year of the annual run, which was started in 2006 and initially named the President David Johnston Run For Mental Health after the former president of the University. There were approximately forty runners and walkers who braved the heat and humidity to participate on this event. These individuals ran towards raising over $1000 for the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council and Suicide Prevention programs from Health Services at UW. Special thanks goes to the organizing committee of several Health Services and Athletics staff, as well as representatives from Psychology, Environment and Kinesiology. Sponsors for the event included Runner’s Choice, the Centre for Mental Health Research, Health Services, Athletics, the President’s Office, and the University of Waterloo Employee Assistance Program.

The event shows no signs of stopping and will likely continue next year, and you are all challenged to compete FTW!