Running for Resilience (R4R), a social running community, is now officially a registered charity, with plans to extend throughout Canberra, like a "mid-week Parkrun", with the aim to give everyone a mental health lift and, ultimately, prevent suicides.
Founded by Matt Breen in late 2019, 10 years after the loss of his father to suicide, R4R began as a one-off run with just 20 people from The Dock pub on the Kingston Foreshore.
Fast forward four years and R4R now hosts four weekly events, drawing more than 500 participants each week dedicated to suicide prevention in the ACT.
R4R is centred on its founding spot, the Kingston Foreshore and The Dock pub where people gather after the Wednesday night run for a free drink and get-together.
There are walks or runs at 6.15am on Monday or Friday and 6pm on Wednesday, and a stroll for children and parents or carers at 10.30am on Thursday.
But the move to charity status means R4R can now fundraise and extend to other parts of Canberra, with the same model - a mid-week casual walk or jog, anywhere from three to seven kilometres, followed by a catch-up at a local venue.
The charity status also means R4R now has a governing board, chaired by Mr Breen, with the secretary Ben Alexander, co-founder of R4R and co-owner of The Dock.
Mr Breen said he was "humbled and amazed" to see the running group evolve so far.
He said the catalyst for seeking charity status had been a "generous" donation by Anytime Fitness founders Jess and Richard Peil, a Canberra couple who regularly take part in the R4R runs.
That contribution will go towards ensuring the long-term viability of R4R and expanding its reach to more pubs and locations across the region.
"It made us think, 'Hey is this the time to become a charity?'," Mr Breen said.
The aim of R4R is for the ACT to be "suicide-free by 2023".
Mr Alexander said he had no doubt R4R had helped to prevent suicides.
As recently as this week, a person in distress at one of the runs had been assisted by a volunteer, accompanied on a walk and encouraged to have a talk afterwards. They returned the next day to thank R4R for helping them at a low point.
"The best thing about R4R is our community," Mr Breen said.
"From the thousands of people who've run or walked, to the 20 volunteers that organise what we do, and now Jess and Rich who've given us the nudge we needed to step things up.
"We truly believe a suicide-free Canberra is possible, and it's clear that more and more people are starting to believe that too."
