Maèva Tremblay was enjoying life on an exchange program in Lyon, a beautiful city in France a year ago as the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world.
The program was cut short, and she had to come home early, resulting in a bout of depression and anxiety.
The 18-year-old Thomas Haney Secondary student found jogging helped alleviate the feelings.
“It helped me get into the mindset of coming back to what’s real, accepting my feelings, and just decompressing,” she said.
The more she ran, the more she liked it, but she pointed out there was something missing.
“I was running so much, but there was no end goal for me, and I wanted to have something to strive towards,” Tremblay said.
With no public runs on the horizon, she decided to jog to help others who were combating similar problems.
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On March 14, she will run a half marathon in Maple Ridge to raise money in the fight against mental illness.
‘I decided to fundraise for the Canadian Mental Health Association, because it provides resources to people who can’t afford them,” Tremblay explained. “During the pandemic, people need the resources they offer in order to get better.”
We all struggled throughout the pandemic. We became aware that mental health is a very important issue, people with...
Posted by Maeva Tremblay on Tuesday, February 2, 2021
She is using Charitable Impact to collect funds for the Vancouver-Fraser branch of the association.
Right now she is at $900 of her $1,000 goal.
The Grade 12 student has prepared a route around Maple Ridge for the day, which she will traverse three times.
Her training will involve two workout days, three run days, and two rest days a week leading up to the big run.
The fundraising has given her renewed purpose.
“While suffering from mental illness during the pandemic, I was really lucky,” she said. “I had resources – I had a psychologist who really helped me through my depression and anxiety.
“So now I’m excited to give back and do something for the community.”
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