When Kimberley Chalmers lost her best friend in 2023 the grief she experienced stopped her doing one of the things she loved most.
"For some reason, that was just my process, that was how I was being impacted," she said.
Mrs Chalmers eventually began to run again and taking part in community events, like the Canberra Times Fun Run, has helped her work through the tough time.
"Running has been very healing, I think, in terms of the grieving process," she said.
Mrs Chalmers is taking part in the half-marathon distance in Sunday's event after completing shorter distances in previous years. This year, it felt like a "really significant end goal" she said.
"I feel like if I can do this, then I've made really good progress."
Mrs Chalmers said the positive effects that good physical health can have was a huge reason she advocated for running, especially for "grieving and how important that is for mental health as well".
More than 5000 runners are expected to to tackle a half-marathon, a 10-kilometre or a five-kilometre race on Sunday morning at the 2024 Canberra Times Fun Run.
Participants have been encouraged to fundraise for a charity of their choice and organisers hope to reach a total donation amount of $90,000.
Many are using the run as a personal challenge to defy their expectations of themselves.
Previously a casual runner, Paul Wicks decided to set himself the task of a half marathon despite experiencing an ankle injury. "I was waking up in pain most mornings," he said. "So I worked pretty hard with a physio to do some extra strength training."
He started with small distances and was constantly improving so decided to go for the hlaf-marathon.
"I'm always looking for what's next," Mr Wicks said.
Katherine Fraser will run the 10km as a new goal after she was diagnosed with arthritis.
"I wanted to prove to myself that I could still run despite my chronic condition," she said.
Mrs Fraser was diagnosed with arthritis in 2019 and has since not been able to run like she used to. But with the help of her nine-year-old daughter to inspire her, she decided to give it another go.
"I got up to that two kilometres and that was my impetus to keep going," she said.
Another task for Mrs Fraser was overcoming the mental challenge of not being as fast as she used to be.
She said she had to learn to be OK with her new pace and "be OK with the fact that overcoming arthritis and being able to run and defy that is pretty good on its own".
The fundraising aspect of the event is always significant, something that Australian Brain Cancer Foundation CEO Milena Skepev, who's running the 5km, encouraged.
Mrs Skepev said events like this were so important for bringing awareness to all of the charities that are involved.
"It's about all of us getting together and supporting each other," she said.
The event consists of a 2km kids run, 5km, 10km and 21.1km and registrations do not close until 30 minutes before each race starts.
Whether taking on a personal challenge, fundraising for a charity, or cheering on the sidelines, the 2024 fun run is guaranteed to be a fabulous day.
Here's a link to register for those still deciding whether to take part.
