It took less than 17 minutes for Humber's Liam Bauman, the 2023 OCAA Bronze Medal cross-country winner, to be the first to swoosh by the finish line at the Strive to Thrive 5K run/walk through the Arboretum.
Despite finishing with a time he's not happy about, he placed first in the April 10 event hosted by the Fitness and Health Promotion students. This race, however, offered no medals but rather provided hope by raising money for Stella’s Place, a charity for young people who need a helping hand.
Students and runners enjoyed free coffee, snacks and a raffle offering numerous prizes. Will Emilio, a development officer at Stella’s Place, was at the event to help support and represent the mental health organization.
“It's events like this that really drive Stella's Place," he said. "It's what keeps our doors open and what keeps people coming back, and we're just really happy to have this kind of community engagement, especially from young adults (and) for young adults.”
Stella’s Place offers service and support for young adults aged 16 to 29 years old, and it is a free mental health support.
“Our goal is really to break isolation, and keep people together and ensure that we're kind of improving mental health as we go along. And we have a really talented team, and we're really intentional about the programming that we design,” he said.
“Even our building is designed intentionally to support mental health. So if you ever visit us, there's a lot of plants, a lot of natural tones. It's very bright and airy, lots of windows, so it's a great place to kind of be and to feel safe as well,” Emilio said.
He said spreading awareness is the best thing one can do to keep young people’s mental health improving.
“If you do know any young person who's suffering with their mental health, please tell them about Stella's Place,” Emilio said.
He said they are a low-barrier mental health service, so one doesn’t need to have their health card or a diagnosis to be accepted there.
“You don't need to register for most of our programs," Emilio said. "You can just walk on in.”
Andrew Urbani, a Fitness and Health Promotion student and a member of Team DeLisle, a fundraising group of runners, said he was really happy to participate in the run.
“I'm glad I got to participate again this year, and honestly, it's for a really good cause, for mental health and everything, like, me too, I struggle with my mental health too, and I just think it's great running for such a good cause,” he said.
Urbani said he was impressed and happy he improved from last year, where he came in 10th, and now he beat his time, coming in fifth this year.
He also won the $100 raffle at the event and was very excited about it.
Urbani said he couldn’t participate in the year when Team DeLisle first ran the 5K race because it coincided with his grandfather’s funeral, but he ran in the second year to honour him.
He said he ran for him this year, too, but he also ran to prove he is capable of anything.
“Anyone is capable of anything if you really just put your mind to it, and if you push yourself,” Urbani said.
“I just want to remind others that no matter what you're going through in life or whatever, like no matter what happens you can't predict what's gonna happen in life or everything, just remember like, as long as you're still here and you're trying, I believe that things will always get better,” he said.
“I just feel like everyone has strength inside them and I would encourage people to just go for it and everything, like, if you want to do something, just do it, and (…) just have confidence in yourself,” Urbani said.
Bauman, a Kinesiology student at the University of Guelph-Humber, finished the race with 16 minutes and 48 seconds.
“Not the exact time I wanted. I kind of wanted it a little bit faster, but I'm happy with it for now,” Bauman said.
He is the captain of the cross-country varsity team at Humber, but it was his first time running in the 5K Run/Walk.
“I'm definitely going to come back next year, so it was fun,” Bauman said.
Matthew Fletcher, a Media Communications student at Guelph-Humber, is in his third year running as a member of Team DeLisle and won second place in the race with 18 minutes and 46 seconds.
“It's always a good community. It's a good group of people. You know, Jade knows a lot of hard workers, and everybody really prepares for this run and tries their best,” he said about Team DeLisle.
“I feel really good. That was like the fastest run I've done so far, so hopefully I could, you know, I could keep practicing going forward,” he said.
He said that officially, his teammate Chino Rodney Tagay was in second and ahead of him, but he ended up getting lost as he took the wrong turn on the course.
“It was a bit of an iffy situation with the pathing this year,” Fletcher said, as Tagay got lost and came in third place in the race.
“I took a wrong turn. I tried to catch up, but I (wasn't) able to catch up. But still, it was fun. It was a fun experience and a learning experience too,” Tagay said.
“So the pathing was a little weird, but you know, overall the vibes are really good out here and everyone's having a good time, so it's good,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher encourages everyone to come and participate in the run next year, as it is fun and supports a good cause, which is youth mental health.
Tagay, a Computer Systems student at Humber, said it was fun to meet new people passionate about running, as it is a healthy habit.
“I would really suggest people to start running. And if they're already running, then just keep it up, because it's good for the body, but it's also healing for your mind. Because you can relax a lot,” he said.
