Online registration closes on June 4
BETHEL — The second annual Ryan’s Trail Run: A Run For Life will take place Sunday, June 22, on the Pine Hill Trails at Gould Academy.
The 5- and 10-kilometer race is named for Ryan Gilman of Wallagrass, an outgoing, likable dad who suffered from depression. On April 9, 2008, Gilman texted his friends and family and then took his own life. Since his death, his older sister and race organizer, Kristen Kimball, has worked to take this devastating event and turn it into a way to help others.
“I can’t change what happened that day, but I can try to raise awareness around mental illness in hopes of preventing other families from having to experience what mine has,” she said.
Last year, Ryan’s Trail Run raised more than $15,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said Kimball, who hopes to achieve the same goal this year while also continuing to open up the dialogue around suicide and its causes.
“The more we can talk openly about depression and other mental illnesses in order to remove the sigmas attached to them, the closer we get to preventing future suicides. This is my goal and that of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,” she said.
The race requires a $30 entry fee; runners are asked to collect $100 in pledges. Online registration closes on June 4. Visit www.ryanstrailrun.com to learn more or to donate.
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