Central Hinds players to organise a 24-hour running event to support mental health   

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many top athletes to mental health issues. In a bid to break the stigma around it and raise money, the 2018-19 Hallyburton Johnston Shield winners Central Hinds have oraganised a grueling 24-hour running challenge to support mental health this weekend. The event named ‘24-hour slog for mental health’, will see participants run laps around Palmerston North’s Fitzherbert Park from 10 am on Saturday to 10 am on Sunday.

Hinds players Hannah Rowe, Rosemary Mair, Natalie Dodd and Jess Watkin have been at the national camp at Mt Maunganui this week but will return this weekend for the run. All the money raised will go to the Mental Health Foundation.

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“We were just trying to think of something to do for team bonding and encourage all the girls to get some fitness up when we live in different places,” Rowe was quoted as saying to stuff.co.nz. “We thought it would be quite cool to run for a cause and between the team we thought mental health was something we were all passionate about, and we came up with the concept of someone running the whole time.”

The participants will run in laps around the park the whole time and if they feel the need for a nap, it can be done by ducking into the pavilion. Rowe said they would need a lot of coffee. The event will also test the cricketers mentally and physically.

“It’s going to be a really good challenge and that's what we wanted it to be. We wanted to all be grinding it out together. We’ll do some shifts and send some people off to sleep for a couple of hours. It’s going to be a hard slog,” she said.  “Everyone is really looking forward to it and everyone knows it's going to be really hard. They will plan activities on the day to keep entertained.”