Why we run
Source: Facebook / Lads without Labels
Louis had never run a half marathon before. In fact, the most he had ever run in one day was just shy of 15 kilometres. But on September 26, Louis exceeded his personal best by 6 kilometres, raising $50 toward men's mental health in the process.
Tuesday 24 of September saw the fourth annual Run72 kick-off. The event, organised by Lads Without Labels, sees participants run, jog, or even walk as many laps as they would like around campus to raise funds for the cause.
Lads Without Labels is a student-led charity organisation with the mission of improving the state of mental health and well-being for all, but particularly male students. Run72 is their biggest fundraising effort of the year.
Through day and night, as long as one runner was on the track at all times for the 72 hour period the event would be considered a success.
“I’m really impressed at the number of people who turned up,” said one runner, Louis.
“As someone who knows a lot of guys who struggle with mental health, it’s really reassuring and nice to see this many people out here to show their support.”
Run72 was founded in 2019 as an effort to raise awareness for the suicide rates among males in New Zealand. In 2019, the suicide rate in New Zealand saw 72% of all cases being men, this number has risen to 76% this year according to the Lads Without Labels description of the event, showing the dire need for attention to be brought to this issue.
Speaking to Lads Without Labels president Tom, he described how proud he was of all the runners that joined in.
“We started this event 4 years ago, I think we had maybe a few hundred people come down, and now it’s like we’ve had thousands of people and the support for the cause really is amazing,” Tom said.
Speaking more on the issue, Tom spoke on the events overall purpose, saying how the event was formed to “bring attention to the fact that suicide is a massive issue, especially around men, and mental health is a conversation that is not being had enough.”
At the time of writing this, Run72 is on the verge of reaching the goal of $72,000, with only $500 left to go. The vast proportion of which goes to a support fund Lads Without Labels formed on campus, providing free support sessions on campus.
These free sessions can be anything, from a counsellor to a psychologist, to a dietician, all of which receive integral help from Lads Without Labels and seek to provide students the knowledge that, not only is their support available, but these resources help students know they are needed and cared for, one of Lads Without Labels primary missions.
Source: Facebook / Lads without Labels
On a similar note, over 55 thousand kilometres have been run. A wide array of participants joined in, ranging from students to former students and children of runners.
One runner, Chloe, even organised to have her kids school involved in the running. As a member of the Canterbury Services Society, Chloe explained the group had raised over $3,500, exceeding their initial goal of $2,500.
Running five kilometres with her kids and another seven on her own, Chloe shared her gratitude to organisers for making sure the course was out of harm's way.
“I really like how they have only a small part of it on the main road, it makes it way easier and safer for the kids.”
As Lads Without Labels president Tom explained: “this is our major event and big wrap-up for the year so we’re really pleased with the turnout.”
Looking forward to next year's 5th rendition of the event, Lads Without Labels plans to capitalise on this year's success by raising even more awareness to an ultimately pressing issue.