A police officer is running a marathon in Mississauga today and says he is doing it in full uniform as a way of making the “unseen trauma” of mental health struggles, quietly carried by officers and their loved ones, visible.
“Making that first step for people that are suffering from mental health is, I think, a big challenge,” Const. Will Davis, of Peel Regional Police, said in an interview with CTV News Toronto. “It’s kind of this big symbol, a metaphor if you will.”
The Beneva Mississauga Marathon started early Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m., kicking off at Celebration Square with the circuit ending at Lakefront Promenade Park.
Some marathoners may sport a weighted vest, but Davis will be running the track in full uniform and equipment.
Davis said he drew inspiration from a hero of his, David Goggins, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and motivational speaker known for running with a weighted vest.
“Some of the trauma and some of the things that police and first responders have to see, you know, it can stack up,” Davis said. “Someone’s worst day is maybe a police officer’s Tuesday.”
The constable, who has been serving Peel Regional Police for eight years, says he has participated in several tests of endurance, including triathlons and Ironman races. But Davis had to train a little bit differently for this marathon.
“The fitness staff at Peel (Regional) Police has been gracious enough to lend me a belt. I don’t think they like me running around in my uniform training, so I have a training belt, and then my training vest,” Davis said. Since he is also wearing equipment, Davis said his stride could be impacted.
“I’ve done some runs but having it on the waist is 10 times harder because it really just, it locks your hips and it makes it really hard to kind of get a good groove going, but you can do it. It just, you know, hurts a bit more,” Davis said.
This race, however, is his first where he will be running in his gear as a way of raising awareness for police officers and first responders.
Davis says he partnered with Canada Beyond the Blue, a non-profit organization that serves to support enforcement officers and their families. Together, the Run to Raise initiative was launched as a way of encouraging others to participate in the Mississauga marathon, where they donate to the cause or run in the race themselves.
“They provide resources, mental health resources, to police officers and their families, as well as families of fallen officers,” Davis explained. Some of those supports include mental health programs and resources and assistance for retired members, according to his GoFundMe campaign.
Running for this cause is especially important to Davis, as he said he had lost a good friend to suicide about three years ago.
“He wasn’t in policing, but one of those things where I saw him kind of drifting off a little bit and he wasn’t talking as much, and you want to give people your space,” Davis said.
“Sometimes that can be a good indicator, when someone’s kind of pulling away and not talking … it’s good to check in.”
