Yuki Fukushima won the men’s 10K in 36:32, and Kim Dumont won the women’s 10K in 44:45. The women’s 5K winner was Akiko Oda, in 22:18, and the men’s winner was Evan Yukevich, in 17:38. For the second year in a row, the event took place at the Tama River (Tamagawa) running course, and all proceeds will support TELL in our efforts to provide confidential mental health support and counseling to the international and Japanese community.
The theme of this year’s event, emblazoned on race t-shirts, was ‘Shatter Stigma’. Roughly one in four people will experience a mental health problem during their lifetime, yet only a quarter of those who experience a mental illness reach out for support. Most fear that others will judge them negatively. Stigma and discrimination against those living with mental illness is widespread and reaches into schools and institutions of learning, employment, housing, health care and media. It causes shame, prejudice and hopelessness, leaves many trying to manage the problem on their own, either suffering in silence, or masking the pain with drugs or alcohol. But mental illness is treatable, and recovery is possible when education, family, peer and community supports are available and used.