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Date: 6/30/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – On a recent cloudy, humid morning, East Longmeadow resident John Martin and some friends pulled on 30-pound vests and stepped off from Denslow Road, walking down the Redstone Rail Bike Trail. The trail spans 1.4 miles and the group had challenged themselves to ruck to the end and back again a total of seven times, roughly 22 miles – one mile for each of the 22 veterans that die by suicide every day in America.
The ruck, defined as walking or hiking with weight or gear, was part of the Movement for Mental Health (M2H) Challenge, an awareness campaign and fundraiser for the FitOps Foundation. The foundation is a national nonprofit that seeks to empower veterans and transitioning military members by engaging them in fitness, service and community.
People around the country took part in the M2H Challenge on June 26, one day before National PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Awareness Day. Participants chose to walk, bike, ruck or run individually or with a team. Martin, the FitOps director of aftercare, said, “It’s not just PTSD, but mental health in general. We want veterans to be open and honest about their mental health. We want people to know it’s okay to not be okay.”
Martin told Reminder Publishing ahead of the event that he expected the 22 miles to take seven to eight hours to complete. While a core group was completing the entire ruck, he said that friends and family had planned to join him for a mile or two throughout the day.
In addition to awareness, FitOps is using the challenge to raise money through donations. People can donate at https://fitops.org. Martin said the money raised goes toward funding Camp FitOps, a three-week camp in northwestern Arkansas that uses fitness and mental wellness training to help veterans “be empowered to write their own stories.” The Camp FitOps graduates leave with nationally-recognized personal trainer credentials. After the course ends, Martin helps people find civilian work, mental health counselors and other long-term services.
Since 2017, roughly 300 people have graduated from Camp FitOps. Before the COVID-19, the organization conducted the camp at a variety of locations. FitOps recently purchased a permanent home for the camp and, now that the worst of the pandemic has passed, it will be opening in August. Martin said the plan is to run the course every month after that.
While not a veteran himself, Martin comes from a military family and said he volunteered to help the foundation before he began working there. The challenge is just another way to help veterans, he said, adding, “If you look at our military, that sacrifice for our country, the least I can do is put one foot in front of the other.”