Aussies urged to pound the pavement this Movember to change the face of men's mental health

Movember is all about changing the face of men’s health. Mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer - Movember’s taking them all on with lululemon’s support.

[mo]re than a run, powered by lululemon, brings runners across Australia and New Zealand together on November 26 by running 10km, 30km or 60km to make a meaningful impact on men’s mental health and suicide prevention.

But if you’re unaware what each distance symbolises, allow us to explain in more detail.

The 10km run supports the one in 10 men around the world living with an anxiety disorder. However, the 30km run is for the 30 per cent rise of Australian men who have died from suicide in the past decade.

And the 60km run is honouring all the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour, around the globe.

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The initiative is the brainchild of lululemon ambassadors ​​Olly Woolrych and Alex Bell. While the two admit the rapid growth of the movement has been an ‘accident’, they now have dreams for the movement to become global.

And with 125 clubs involved and 2,000 participants gearing up for a weekend of running on November 26, this will likely happen soon as their message continues to invigorate the running community.

LADbible sat down with Woolrych and Bell to discuss how their campaign has the community working collectively towards one important goal while prompting the discussion around men's mental well-being.

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What sparked the idea to launch [mo]re than a run?

[mo]re than a run was sparked by the idea of giving the running community of Australia and NZ a chance to come together to drive positive change in the world. We noticed how sophisticated and how tight community run clubs were becoming and knew if we could give them a great reason to work together, it would be a hit.

How do you feel the campaign has impacted the running community, given the overwhelming response?

It has produced a huge shift in the running community, the fact that last year run clubs came together for a charitable purpose instead of on the start line of a race means that a huge amount of run clubs look at each other as allies. 11 months of the year they are trying to run faster than each other, but in November we come together and make a positive impact on men’s health.

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Running is such an individual sport, but what’s it been like working as a collective with the rest of the community? How has it impacted your own mental well-being?

There is something about the simplicity of running that allows it to be a really great way to connect with others. The common goal of getting up a hill or running a certain distance can bond those that are doing it together. One of our biggest objectives in this [initiative] is to break the concept that running needs to be done solo.

We have been so lucky to meet and talk with dozens of community run club leaders around the country about their attitude towards building connections through running.

While the stigma around mental health has been reduced in the past couple of years, do you still feel it’s difficult for men to talk about it? If so, why?

Certainly, we feel that men still find it difficult to talk about their mental health. We feel this is complex in nature and it will take time for men to feel comfortable opening up about their mental health and potential struggles. Although these barriers are being broken down men can feel a sense of weakness when sharing openly about how they are really feeling.

We know that there is strength in vulnerability and we hope [mo]re than a run can continue to break down these barriers so that everyone can openly communicate about their mental health and well-being.

If you want to rock more than a Mo this November, head to the [mo]re than a run to register for the run now, where you can also learn additional info to be a part of this charitable cause. Head here to find out more about the lululemon x Movember partnership.

If this story has brought up issues for you, help is available via Lifeline and movember.com/findhelp.