Running for Life
RunningSpace are hosting a 24-hour, midnight to midnight relay run to raise awareness and to take a stand against suicide for World Suicide Prevention Day, Sunday 10 September.
RunningSpace, a project of The Pelham Community Hub & Coffee Lounge on Hollier’s Hill in Bexhill, has a vision to champion life and to beat suicide “one step at a time”. Fuelled by faith, RunningSpace helps to develop active and aware communities that empower people to live through using weekly Walk2Run sessions. RunningSpace sessions are held in Bexhill and St Helen’s in Ore. Everyone is welcome! Runners of all abilities are catered for, and the policy is that, however slow or fast you are, “no one is left behind”. This is achieved through the ‘run back’ policy where anyone ahead of the pack regularly runs back to join the end of the group.
In the UK, one person dies by suicide every two hours. Suicide remains the biggest cause of death for men under 45 and rates are rising in young people. For every person who dies by suicide, an estimated 134 are affected, from family and friends to community and colleagues, as well as front line services.
From midnight on Saturday 9 September, there will be groups running on the hour, every hour to complete a 5km route around Sidley in Bexhill. This route can be walked or run and will take roughly an hour to complete if walking. This is a free, supported and supervised event, hosted by the running coaches and running leads.
Last year, 62 people joined in running over 300 miles collectively with a total of 684,000 steps! We want to continue to grow this run as a suicide prevention awareness event, reaching out to those who have been affected by suicide and also to voluntary organisation and statutory services.
RunningSpace also delivers year-round suicide-prevention training to organisations in East Sussex. Thinking of joining? Get in touch, to find out more about the weekly running sessions or to enquire about suicide-prevention training at [email protected], go to runningspace.org or follow the RunningSpace or The Pelham Facebook pages for updates.
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