Running Against Suicide

A charity run to fight suicide amongst young men got started this morning, and runners will circle the country.

RÚV reports that 12 people set off this morning from Red Cross headquarters to run around the country over the next five days, with the race ending in the Westman Islands.

The run, apart from being a grueling test of endurance, is going to a good cause: to raise awareness of suicide, in particular amongst young men, and to hopefully prevent more of them from happening. Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst Icelandic men between the ages of 18 and 25.

All proceeds will go towards filming a PSA about suicide, and to start a campaign to visit primary schools and teach boys to talk it out if they are feeling bad.

You can follow the events on the official Facebook of the run, where photos will be uploaded, and you can follow the runners’ progress here.