Submitted by 1N5.

In order to protect the health and safety of participants and fans, the 11th annual Warrior Run: The Race for Life has been changed to a virtual event. The pandemic and social restrictions are negatively affecting physical and mental health, and we are all being challenged to figure out how to navigate the changes.

With so many community events canceled as a result of COVID-19, we believe the Virtual Warrior Run is a great opportunity to join forces with other mental health warriors.

Participants can register individually, create a team or join a team at www.classy.org/event/warrior-run-2020/e292299. The theme of Find Your Path to health, both physical and mental, supports 1N5’s mission of optimal mental health for local youth. The 5K or 1 Mile Walk can be completed anytime between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10.

Runners and walkers are encouraged to share their path via social media and the Warrior Run website.

1N5’s Founder and Executive Director shared her path by establishing the James W. Miller Memorial Fund to honor her husband, Jim, who died by suicide in 2008.

The fund led to the creation of 1N5, inspired by the statistic that one in five teens and adults suffer from mental illness. 1N5 is a non-profit organization with a mission to prevent youth suicide through awareness, education, and stigma reduction.

Since 2008, 1N5 has raised over $1.5 million and impacted over 146,000 local elementary, high school and college students. The Warrior Run benefits Adapting for Life, a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center program and is used to provide mental health education programs in schools in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The CDC reports that the rate of suicide among young people jumped 56 percent between 2017 and 2016 and suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24. 20 percent of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition with 50 percent presenting by age 14 and 75 percent by age 24. Our youth are in crisis.

Register or volunteer for The Warrior Run at www.cincywarriorrun.org.

For information about Adapting for Life: www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/a/suicide-awareness/outreach-program.

For more information about 1N5, please visit www.1N5.org.