Stride for Life will return for a second year, focusing on fostering a safe community and bringing students together to support suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

On April 12, set to energetic music, students will gather outside of the stadium to participate in the second annual event. Participants will check in upon their arrival and receive their event shirt and bib number, and then they can enjoy activities scattered throughout the stadium and lot, including face painting and some treats from local vendors like Nutrition 512. 

At the inaugural event, student council president senior Livi Fitzgerald and vice president senior Meredith McMahon mapped out Stride for Life, a two-mile fun run advocating and raising funds for mental health. Fitzgerald and McMahon aimed to create more open conversations about mental health and to help bring the community closer. 

“Last year nearly 200 students took part, and this year the goal is closer to 250 students,” Mcmahan said.

Fitzgerald and McMahon hope the event continues to grow each year and hope it will be part of their legacy as a Chap. Fitzgerald and McMahon are working with a junior student council representative to co-plan the event this year in an effort to keep it going.  

“This year, we are expanding leadership to some juniors in the student council, so that next year they can lead the project,” Fitzgerald said. “We intend for Stride for Life to continue after we graduate.”

Fitzgerald and Mcmahan know that in order for Stride for Life to have a lasting impact, their leadership must be passed down to younger students. The event isn’t just about running — it’s about them bringing the community together for an important cause.

“Suicide prevention is a cause that is very close to both of our hearts,” McMahon said. 

Mental health can be a difficult topic to discuss, but when students participate in Stride for Life, they can demonstrate their support for one another and helping break the stigma that comes with mental health struggles. Promoting conversation about mental health is essential to ending the stigma around it.

“Supporting this cause and showing love to those around them is essential to putting the conversation of mental health in action,” Fitzgerald said.

If you’re looking for a way to make an impact on your community, mark your calendar for Saturday, April 12. Show your support, grab your friends and family and sign up. Register here: https://eanes.revtrak.net/Stride-for-Life/#/list