Cross Canada Run

I am currently in Victoria, BC to attend a few functions, including the BC Healthy Minds-Healthy Campuses Summer Conference. I have lots to say about the conference which ended yesterday but I am feeling pretty tired right now and would like to share a special story before I involuntarily doss off. Over the next few days I will write about the many great stories that I have come across at the conference and the wonderful people that I have met.

For this visit to Victoria I am staying with my new friend Bruce Saunders. Bruce promotes awareness of mental health through films at his special project Movie Monday in Victoria. I went for a run this morning to check out Bruce’s neighbourhood. Shortly into my run I came across a mother with a young kid on a kiddy bike. The mother murmured something to her kid as I ran by which got my attention so I turned around to find out what was happening. It turned out that the mother was trying running for the first time in a long time but she was having problem looking after her son at the same time. I decided to run along them and entertain the little guy for a while but I didn’t talk about my run at first. By this time, the little boy had abandoned his bike to run with us so the three of us bounced down the sidewalk together. The kid and I had fun entertaining each other while I shared with the mother my learn-to-run goofy moments. Towards the end of the run I finally bragged about my recent run to raise awareness of anxiety and depression. The mother then told me that she has been suffering from severe depression since young and that she is currently going through another bad bout of the illness. In fact, when I first saw her and her son she was giving running a try to feel better. It felt like a special encounter from the movies! I was glad that I didn’t just keep on running in the first place and I was happy that the mother seemed to be encouraged by the successful completion of her first attempt at running. I was totally elated by the experience! After saying goodbye to the new runner and my little friend, I continued my run with the feeling that I was running on air…then I got a little (just a little) lost in the new neighbourhood and the rain started to come down, but it was a good day!

Distance ran today: don’t know

Ended up running in the rain: didn’t care