Trek brings awareness
Joel Brewton | Herald-Standard
Stephanie Cottom (left) and Patti Kline, both of Connellsville, give a cheering welcome to their friend and coworker, Kim Brown, following her 49 mile walk over 24 hours Sunday afternoon in Hopwood.
Joel Brewton | Herald-Standard
Kim Brown is greeted at the foot of the mountain in Hopwood by her 2-year-old nephew Ethan Springer on Sunday afternoon following her 49-mile “Climb For Awareness” over 24 hours to raise funds for depression and suicide awareness.
Forty-nine miles.
A marathon is only a mere 26.2 miles.
Kim Brown walked 49 miles up and over some mountains to raise awareness of suicide and depression as well as raise funds for community outreach and education programs through Chestnut Ridge Counseling Services.
Brown started this “Climb for Awareness” on Saturday in Maryland and finished 24 hours later Sunday afternoon in Hopwood to be greeted by a group of her friends, family and supporters.
“This was such an emotional journey for me. There aren’t very many people in the world today that can have people come out on their day off, to get absolutely nothing out of it, except to make somebody else feel supported. I hope you all know how special you are to me,” Brown said after finishing. There were tears in her eyes as the crowd cheered.
Moments later, Brown took a long gulp of water from a chilled bottle. Temperatures were in the mid 70s and the sun was shining.
Away from the crowd, Brown took a deep breath before she said, “I feel wonderful. This was an incredible journey. I’ve never done anything so difficult, but so rewarding.”
Brown said her legs were not shredded – code for being sore – after her trip, but she needed to wear four pairs of shoes to help cope with the blisters and sore feet.
“All that hurts is the bottoms of my feet,” she said. “But, I put blisters on different places so I had to change tennis shoes.”
Brown said the theme of this year’s trek was that “you never climb alone.” And true to form, Brown had a group of folks who watched and/or walked with her. Some stayed with her in the dark of the night, while others remained with her during sunny skies.
Tuesday was Brown’s 49th birthday, hence the number of miles that needed to be walked. No Ironman, Brown is an education supervisor for Head Start.
“My training – I walk the summit a couple of times each week and lengthen the number of miles that I walked,” she said.
Brown said walking in the dark with headlamp strapped to her forehead was not as bad as one would imagine.
“Believe it or not, walking at night was very peaceful,” she said. “If anything, I was just really scared of the animals. I was afraid of a wolf – like one from the Disney movies. A couple of foxes came out and spooked me for a bit, but it was very peaceful.”
After a certain point, the body and brain rebel when running or walking long distances. Known as “the wall”, that kind of tired is not like anything that most people will ever experience. The brain rationalizes stopping, maybe sitting down. The body is completely depleted of energy while the muscles are screaming. A strong “will” allows someone to overcome the wall.
Brown said she hit the wall near Nemacolin about 35 miles into her trek, but she knew she had to keep going.
“I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to start back up again,” she said.
When the walk was over, really over, Brown took a moment to reflect on her journey.
“Relieved? Part of you becomes disappointed because this has been weeks and weeks of planning, but it was such an accomplishment,” she said. “For me, the biggest reward, other than helping people who need to be diagnosed or need some help, is to see the people support me.”
Brown alluded to how her life has had peaks and valleys.
“I can remember years and years ago, driving up to scenic overlook and looking down,” she said. “I really don’t remember getting down. As I was walking past the overlook the other day, Carrie Underwood’s song “Jesus Take the Wheel” came on. I have to tell you, he does. We all have him. We have each other. I think the hardest part is knowing what to look for and when you see it, knowing what to do and how to help.”
Chesnut Ridge counsels people through their travels in life.
“I think what Kim did was amazing,” said Mike Quinn, Chesnut Ridge CEO. “We hope this inspires people.
Suicide and depression can grip anyone, anytime.
“It’s a shame that it takes something like this or Robin Williams’ situation for society to realize that mental health issues and depression are more prevalent than people really think,” Quinn said. “It is important that individuals who are out there with mental health problems are seeking help with their family, friends and people asking how each other are doing. Don’t hesitate to get help.”
Awareness is the key.
“There’s more awareness now of people with mental health problems,” Quinn said. “Unfortunately, it tends to be the tragic things like Robin Williams or the Columbine shooting or those types of things that bring attention to it. We want to make sure people get the help that they need.”
Anyone donations can be made to Chesnut Ridge Counseling Services Inc. with “A Climb for Awareness” noted withing the check’s memo. Donations are tax deductible.
Chesnut Ridge’s address is: 100 New Salem Road, Suite 116, Uniontown, Pa., 15401-8904.
Anyone with questions or more can contact Chesnut Ridge at 724-437-0729.