‘Stronger Together’ theme sets tone for 59th MDW’s 5K Run for Life

The Joint Base San Antonio community will unite to bring awareness to the problem of suicide during two events scheduled in May.

The 59th Medical Wing will host the 5K Run for Life at 8:30 a.m. May 5 at JBSA-Randolph’s Airmen’s Heritage Park and 8:30 a.m. May 19 at JBSA-Lackland’s Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center. Check-in begins at 8 a.m., but registration is free.

“This year’s theme is ‘We are Stronger Together,’” said Gina Ramirez, JBSA-Randolph Mental Health Outreach coordinator. “The suicide rate for military members is 50 percent higher than it is for their civilian counterparts. That is why we have these events – the more often we have them, the more we can get the word out about suicide awareness and prevention.”

For the first time, the 5K Run for Life will have a competitive element.

Medals will be awarded to the top three male and top three female finishers in two age categories: 30 years old and younger and 31 years old and older.

However, participants can still walk or run just for the fun of it.

“It’s a family-friendly event,” Ramirez said. “Jog strollers, children and leashed pets are welcome.”

Both runs will feature a resiliency fair representing all four Air Force pillars of resiliency: mental, physical, social and spiritual.

Representatives of units from the JBSA medical community and Military OneSource as well as organizations such as Yellow Ribbon Spouses, Survivors of Loved Ones’ Suicides, the Vogel Resiliency Center at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will be on hand to provide information that promotes resiliency and addresses the issue of suicide.

Although Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month is observed in September, it’s important to make people aware of the issue throughout the year, Ramirez said.

“We’re trying to extend our outreach,” she said. “There are so many resources available to our military members and families, and we want to make sure they’re aware of them.”

Some of the stresses military members and their families face are unique to that community, Ramirez said.

“We’re a subculture that experiences things that the civilian population doesn’t experience,” she said. “That is why resiliency is so important.”

The 5K Run for Life is just one of the running events the 59th Medical Wing hosts during the year to promote resiliency and address medical and mental health issues, Ramirez said. Runners who wish to be alerted about all these events should text 59MDWRUN to the number 99000.

“We’re looking forward to another 5K Run for Life,” she said. “It’s very meaningful to us because everyone is touched by suicide. It’s important to remember that we are stronger together.”