- Friends & Family
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
I work at staying active, especially on the weekends. I found the Heroes 6k in Leiper’s Fork when looking for an event to keep me off the couch. I have recently lost a lot of weight and work on changing my habits to become healthier. I grew up in Franklin, TN, near the Leiper’s Fork race location. I’m not a runner, but a fast walker and have lots of fun doing it.
I am grateful I have not suffered from any addiction or mental health issues. However I can relate as I had to make a conscious decision to change my own life, as I decided to lose weight. It was time for a change. I have two sons, two daughters-in-law’s and three grandchildren. We’ve gone through some challenging times and I’m glad that none of us turned to alcohol or drugs to cope.
I participate in the Breast Cancer Walk every year with a team from my work. In my opinion breast cancer has a similar recovery and stigma as with addiction. I’m happy if people can come forward and get help for their medical or clinical problems without feeling shame. It has progressively improved and people are more accepting. Years ago people didn’t want to talk about breast cancer, today they do. I hope that raising awareness for addiction will lead to the same progress.
I really like purpose of the 6k distance in the Heroes in Recovery 6k versus the traditional 5K. At the 5K point I will remember the ‘extra distance’ that a person suffering from addiction and mental health disorders goes every day in their recovery.