Mental Health Minute: 5K for awareness

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — If you are an active person looking for a fun event this weekend, look no further. Today’s Mental Health Minute discusses a local high schooler’s effort to combine physical and mental health awareness.

“Anytime I’m like down in the dumps and I’m struggling, I’ll just throw on my shoes and go for a run just to clear my mind with some music, it helps a ton and helps me reset and get back in my groove and I feel better the next day,” Matthew Ottley, the organizer of this 5K said.

Matthew Ottley is a senior at Canyon Ridge High School and a member of the cross-country team. For his senior project, he thought of an idea that would combine his love of running with his desire to help others.

“I’ve always loved running; it’s helped me with my personal mental health for a long time, so I just wanted to spread that to our whole community through a 5K,” Ottley said.

The 5K run will occur at Jae’s Place in Twin Falls this Saturday. All proceeds raised from race registration will go directly to the Jae Foundation for its various events.

“It’s to help with any causes they may need, whether that’s senior boots or teen outreach events or summer retreats,” Ottley said.

Monique Middlekauff, the manager of lifestyle medicine at St. Luke’s, said the effects running or other physical activity can have on mental health can’t be understated.

“We know that those who have been sedentary, or physically inactive have about a 31 percent higher risk of depression in comparison to those that are active, so we know that there is a component of physical activity that is inextricably linked with our mental health,” Middlekauff said.

Middlekauff also discussed the benefits of consistent exercise, such as increased blood flow and overall better well-being, and emphasized the importance of getting together as a community to tackle issues like mental health awareness through physical activity.

“I think it’s so wonderful when we can come together in a community and not only help support this overall topic of mental health, but physically participate in something that improves our physical well-being and also improves our mental well-being so if you can I really encourage you to come out on Saturday,” said Middlekauff.

If you want to run the 5K on Saturday, sign-up will be at Jae’s Place beginning around 8:30 a.m. The race starts at 10:00 a.m.

The cost is $35 for one, $60 for groups of two, and $120 for a family or four-pack.