Myles would have been 23 years old this year. To celebrate his heavenly Birthday, I will be running 23 miles at PJ Hoffmaster and Ottawa Dunes. Although this has been a great source of love and support to help me with my grieving journey, it has also evolved as an event to help bring awareness to the mental health battles that many of us locally and those across the world are facing.
A few specifics about the run before my ask of you. The run will start at the south circle parking lot at PJ Hoffmaster State Park. The event will start at 8:30 am. I will share a few words and the message of Miles for Myles. We will have painted rocks to hand out. Feel free to leave the rocks in the forest or take them to your own special place. We will then take a group photo. Then we will first run to Myles bench. I will attach a few pictures of Myles to help inspire. Then we will continue to run the Hobby Joggas 7-mile loop. If you want to run on the road, be safe and run on roads within PJ Hoffmaster. I will run 3 loops and then finish with a short run to Myles bench and then back to the parking lot. This will make 23 miles. At the end we will have some pizzas and sodas.
Please feel free to join me for the run. You may start at the beginning or during any of the 7-mile loops. If you want to join virtually, feel free to run, walk, or bike the full 23 miles/km, or 2.3 miles. You can even go for 23 minutes if you want. My ask is for you to reflect on the mission and message of Miles for Myles:
1) You Matter! You will impact more people than you will ever know.
2) If you are struggling, no matter how easy or difficult the task is, reach out for help! They're many resources that can provide help and support.
3) If you see someone struggling, offer support! If you see someone down, pick them up. Just offering an ear to listen can make all the difference in someone's life.
4) Check on your strong friends! Myles was such a comforting and compassionate soul for so many of his friends, we all never knew the deep struggles he was battling.
5) Be kind to others! You really don't know the struggles others are facing. Your kindness can be the one act that can give someone hope. To give tomorrow a chance.
I would also like to recognize these additional projects that align with Miles for Myles. The first is “The22Project”. I had the honor to participate in Michael Horner’s “Living An Ultra Life”. In the podcast I was able to learn about The22Project and the “Swammie Shuffle 200” run. The 22 Project is dedicated to reducing suicides among combat wounded and disabled veterans, reservist or active-duty personnel. The other is “Still I Run”. They are dedicated for runners for Mental Health Awareness. Both are great organizations to be a part of and learn more.
https://support22project.org/
https://awarenessnaction.org/
https://www.stillirun.org/
If we can just impact one life, for one minute, one hour, one day, from making a horrible decision, postponing that decision, we can positively impact a life and help keep Myles memory to live on.
Hope to see you there. And as always, Love you Son
Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Ferrysburg.
