Around 45 frontline responders from Police, Fire and Emergency, St John, Surf Life Saving, the New Zealand Defence Force, and Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department will run for 24 hours on the New Brighton Pier this weekend to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health and suicide prevention.
The event, which coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week, will raise money for I Am Hope, a charity providing free counselling for vulnerable young people across New Zealand.
Each team will run four miles every four hours for 24 hours, totalling 38.5 kilometres. For an extra challenge, runners will complete an additional lap of the pier each time, pushing the total distance to 42 kilometres, a full marathon.
Senior Constable Glenn Dawson, who organised the event, said the idea came from wanting to combine physical endurance with a meaningful cause.
“As far as we know, no one has ever run a marathon on the pier, so that’s something to get excited about,” Dawson said.
The event begins at midday on Saturday, with the Defence Force and Surf Life Saving starting first. Police will run at 2pm, 6pm, 10pm, 2am, 6am, and 10am.
“The downtime between runs means your body seizes up, and by the end you’re sleep-deprived,” Dawson said. “But that’s the point. We want to push ourselves out of our comfort zone because so many young people feel there’s no light at the end of their tunnel.”
Dawson said emergency services deal with mental health crises every day and are not immune to the trauma they face.
“All of these agencies deal first-hand with suicide and mental health episodes in one way or another, or have increasing amounts of PTSD within their organisations,” he said. “We are not immune to what we see and have to deal with.
“We have chosen to support I Am Hope and currently have just over $5000 raised. I Am Hope provides an amazing service to our young people who may be struggling to get the help they need and deserve, and can have them in front of a counsellor within a week.
“We all know the terrible suicide statistics in this country, and they haven’t shown any signs of improving over the last few years. We want to do what we can to help our young people so we can stop them from becoming another statistic.”
The event has attracted some high-profile support, with mental health advocate Mike King joining on Sunday to cheer runners across the finish line.
“We would love some support from the great people of Canterbury,” Dawson said. “This is no mean feat, and we have a mix of very experienced athletes and non-runners who will all feel the pain for a couple of days, but our pain is short-lived, unlike that of some of the young people we are running for.”
Members of the public are encouraged to visit the pier to cheer the runners on.
“It’s the pier, so if it’s a brisk easterly, stiff southerly or gale nor’wester, we’re stuffed,” Dawson said.
Donations can be made by texting PIER to 469 to donate $3, or by visiting the Givealittle page givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/emergency-services-run-the-pier.
