Alumni Stories
Just keep moving: UC alumnus Ben Alexander promotes mental health awareness, one run at a time
For many elite athletes, retirement from sport can lead to a struggle as they face unknown, unfamiliar territory. For former ACT Brumbies and Wallabies forward Ben Alexander, the transition was rough – his family suffered a loss with the passing of his grandmother, and then the pandemic hit, and he had to navigate operating his hospitality business through those times.
“It was rocky – I was really close with my grandmother so losing her was tough and it happened pretty much at the same time I retired. Then, operating The Dock during the pandemic – everyone in hospitality knows how rough those times were,” says Ben.
“What really helped me in that period was joining . I went with a few friends and we’d go do it, then have breakfast, and I noticed how much better I felt after each session.”
Ben did 50 sessions of parkrun, marking the 50 weeks since his retirement. To celebrate the occasion, he wrote a thank you blog, .
A young guy named Matt Breen saw the article, and Ben’s story resonated with him. Matt had lost his dad 10 years prior, and was dealing with his mom’s terminal cancer diagnosis.
“Matt contacted The Dock and asked if we would like to host a one-off run, in support of mental health, and we agreed and offered to host everyone for a post-run beer and pizza,” says Ben.
“That first run was attended by 20 people, and while we were sitting down, I told Matt, ‘Hey this is pretty fun, let’s do it again next week’ ... we did, and more people came,” recalls Ben.
Fast forward five years later, that one-off run is now called and has evolved into four weekly events, with about 500 attendees from all walks of life.
R4R’s goal is a suicide-free ACT by 2033, and to that end, it aims to raise mental health awareness and build a strong and supportive community through exercise. Earlier this year, it officially became a formal charity.
“We’re big believers in the value of exercise and community connection for an individual’s mental health. That’s what R4R is all about – we want to make it easier for people to exercise with friends regularly, and hopefully, build a happier, healthier Canberra,” says Ben.
“It’s as much about the social aspect of our awesome community as it is about the run or walk itself. While we do have people who run the full 7km course along the Kingston Foreshore, it’s the catchup for a drink afterwards and checking in with your mates that really make this what it is.
“I’ve yet to see anyone not in a great mood on a Wednesday night.”
The sense of community has always been something that was important to Ben. He moved to Canberra 20 years ago to study at UC and has felt a deep connection to the Bush Capital ever since.
Whenever Ben moved to a different school or a different city in his younger years, he used sport and exercise to make friends and build his community. In the past, that was through rugby, but in retirement, it has been through running.
“The running community here in Canberra is filled with so many awesome and welcoming people,” says Ben.
“Whether you’re an experienced runner, or just someone looking for a way to get some exercise and keep fit, they really get around anyone that’s trying to have a crack and test themselves.”
Having already established a community of runners in the Kingston area, Ben didn’t hesitate when an opportunity to bring R4R to UC to cap off O-Week was floated to him.
While he has plenty of fond memories of his time as a student living on campus at Arscott House and International House, Ben reflects that he was probably dealing with mental health issues that he didn’t realise and address at the time.
“I’ve been down that road before, so I’m really proud of my uni for trying to do more to improve student wellbeing, and I’m over the moon to have R4R play a part in that,” says Ben.
“I hope that students can see running with their friends as a way to give them an outlet from whatever stresses they are dealing with. It’s not going to fix everything, but it can certainly make them feel better and give them a jolt of energy to figure out ways to solve their problems.
“I don’t think resilience is an individual character trait, because we’ve learned that a lot of people who are resilient are connected with the people around them. So we need to start looking at resilience as a ‘collective’ thing and I hope, through R4R, I can help spread that message in UC.”
Words by Mike Verzosa. Images by Tyler Cherry.