Troy Knecht is seeking to begin a dialog about males’s psychological well being and suicide prevention together with his Transfer By means of Your Darkness initiative
Whether or not he runs, walks or crawls his method via it, when April 2 rolls round, distance runner Troy Knecht will probably be on the streets and trails of Pemberton for twenty-four straight hours trying to lift consciousness for males’s psychological well being and suicide prevention.
The initiative that he titled Transfer By means of Your Darkness is a private endurance challenge that goals to mix two of Knecht’s passions: distance working and psychological well being consciousness.
“I selected that title as a result of it form of represents and symbolizes the notion that a number of us are going to have darkish occasions throughout our life, however I’m hoping to form of present that simply by striving to maneuver ahead and placing one foot in entrance of the opposite and simply staying within the combat, you will discover the sunshine once more and you’ll come via the darkish occasions,” he mentioned.
“So I assumed I’d attempt to do one thing to alter the script and get folks speaking, finish the stigma kind factor, and mix the 2 passions into one challenge, which I’m tremendous enthusiastic about, however barely scared about. Will probably be one thing I’ve by no means carried out earlier than.”
Males’s psychological well being and suicide prevention is a matter that hits near residence for Knecht, who misplaced a member of the family to suicide, and he will probably be doing this run in his reminiscence.
The plan is to start out his run the morning of Saturday, April 2, and by ending on the similar time the next day, Knecht will probably be protecting together with his mantra, and can actually be shifting via the darkness again into the sunshine of a brand new day.
“The entire thing is that, come Sunday morning, the solar will rise once more. So even after the darkest nights, the solar all the time rises,” he mentioned. “So I’m simply making an attempt to let folks know that it’s OK to not be OK, and that talking isn’t a weak spot.”
Knecht realizes we’re in a “bizarre time” proper now and he isn’t searching for any financial donations to any charities. As a substitute, he simply hopes for it to be a possibility for folks to attach with each other, begin a dialog round psychological well being and hopefully share their very own tales with him.
“What I’m hoping will occur, is folks will get in and become involved. Remotely, in particular person, no matter it could be, no matter mode they wish to do, for as lengthy or as brief as they really feel they’ll do it,” mentioned Knecht. “However I hope folks become involved in particular person. I perceive there will probably be some low factors in my run, and also you’d be stunned, possibly seeing folks is likely to be simply what I have to re-energize me and elevate the spirits and get me again on my ft and shifting ahead nonetheless.”
Whereas his route isn’t completely deliberate out but, Knecht mentioned he’s planning to stay to a constant loop that may have an support station in the midst of the village the place folks can meet and be part of him in the event that they’d like. Folks can even be capable to observe alongside and keep updated together with his progress through the day by way of his Instagram account @troy_knecht the place he plans to submit hourly progress movies.
Shifting ahead, Knecht hopes to make his Transfer By means of Your Darkness initiative an annual prevalence. And whereas it could not all the time be a 24-hour run as a result of he likes to problem himself in several methods, the primary focus of making a dialog and giving folks an area to share their tales will all the time be on the centre of no matter endurance challenge he chooses to do subsequent.
