9 weeks of training for the Chicago Marathon, and I’ve run over 230 miles. That would put me over halfway to Chicago from Minneapolis if I were running that route! I’ve also raised $2837 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention team – which is a fantastic start. If you haven’t pledged me already, please consider donating to this cause that is so important to me.

I ran 17.5 miles this past Saturday (40 miles total for the week). It was a beautiful day and the run felt great. Those runs take a lot of energy so I finished the day with a Lion’s Tap Double California burger! So good. I keep saying that this is the year to find my 6-pack abs…maybe I shouldn’t check if Lion’s Tap will be my sponsor.

I also did the Torchlight 5k recently. It was a great run at night along a parade route in downtown Minneapolis so tons of people were out cheering you on. I didn’t get the memo that nearly EVERYONE else would be wearing blue shirts so my bright green ‘Defeat the Stigma‘ shirt stood out even more than normal! PERFECT! Thank you blue shirts – you all helped me raise awareness!

I watched this video “A Year After Losing A Friend” recently. I LOVED what they did with feelings of ANGER and being MAD. What if love is “every emotion all wrapped into one”? It’s ok for love to make you mad. Suicide and mental health issues are complex. It’s ok to feel whatever you are feeling. It’s far worse to hide your emotions or deny yourself the ability to feel them. Be ok with whatever mood, word, emotion hit you, and know that these will change. Sit with that. Share how you’re feeling. Find someone who will really listen. Someone very close to me took some exception to my use of the word ‘anger’ in my article for The Mighty last year (side note: I love searching for “The Mighty Dave Thompson” to find this article – ha!). I will gladly talk to anyone 1-on-1 about what I went through, but I won’t apologize for any emotions and reactions that I felt in the first few years after losing my sister. Thinking of any emotion that you have as another way to express ‘love’ really brings this home. I hope you NEVER go through anything close to the complexities and far-ranging emotions that are present with the suicide of a sibling. And I hope the funds I raise from DONATIONS while running in the Chicago Marathon on October 7th will help keep others out of this situation.

Thank you for your support and for helping spread awareness to this important cause. WE are saving lives.