Offers of support and advice have been received by Const. Jeff Bartsch, a member of the Weyburn Police Service, as he makes preparations to run a full 42.2 kilometres dressed in his police uniform.
His “Marathon for Mental Health” is geared towards raising awareness and funds for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
“The outlying support that I have been receiving has been great for getting Weyburn on the map,” said Const. Bartsch.
“I have received a lot of support and help from officer Israel Deutsch from Wisconsin, who works in the Green Bay area. He will be giving me some extra stuff here for training.”
“Also I have received a donation from Sgt. Patrick Donovan of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Chicago, Illinois. So the word is getting around.”
Support was also received from officer Kristina Tudor with the Los Angeles Police Department. All three of these officers have run their own marathons in full tactical gear and wanted to provide suggestions to Const. Bartsch, who will run the 42.4 kilometres in his gear during the 38th annual Saskatchewan Marathon, to be held in Saskatoon on Sunday, May 29.
“Everything is going very well,” said Const. Bartsch. He recently received a donation of blue-coloured training gear from the Andrew Agencies Weyburn office.
As he trains for the 42.2 kilometres by slowly building towards that distance, Const. Bartsch noted that he still gets weird looks since he runs in his police uniform. “I have done a couple of test runs on the treadmill. I did one 12-kilometre run with the training gear once I got it, just to see how everything feels.”
“Then I went out for 22 kilometres just recently, and really couldn’t ask for better weather that day.”
It is very important for him to train for the 42.4 kilometres, to make sure his body is able to handle the marathon. “Especially when you are wearing all that equipment, there are things you have to understand about your anatomy.”
He said that salt and electrolytes are the most important thing to keep in mind, during the marathon.
At the local level, Const. Jeff Bartsch said that he also has support from the Weyburn Police Service, and other local businesses and organizations.
“I have received great support from Chief Marlo Pritchard, Insp. Rod Stafford and the rest of the crew at the Weyburn office. Even coming forward with this idea, they were very supportive of it.”
“I really wanted to show people in Weyburn that we do have a great group of police officers here in the city, and we are there to help people with their issues on a day-to-day basis.”
At the personal level, after dealing with his own anxiety and depression, Const. Jeff Bartsch wanted to open up the dialogue for mental health issues.
“I didn’t want to go on medication, so I found a better route which was running, since I find it very relaxing and to de-stress.”
Especially as a police officer, Const. Bartsch said that his job often tends to deal with many stressful situations. He also noted that especially right now, with a struggling economy, there are a lot of mental health concerns that are faced by other community members in Weyburn.
“We need to find a way to control our mental health and have checks of our own mental health.”
“For me, running this marathon in full gear will be tough,” said Const. Bartsch. “It will be very hard, as my training has already shown that. But this is my way to give back and raise awareness about mental health concerns.”
Local residents who want to support Const. Bartsch can purchase a blue bracelet from the Weyburn office of the Canadian Mental Health Association. All funds will help support the programs and services that are offered by the CMHA.
