This summer marked the inaugural running of the Honour Our Men triathlon challenge in Kehewin – an event aimed at bringing awareness to the importance of men's health and being proactive in addressing and maintaining the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of healthy living.
It is certainly positive to see people taking active roles in their community to help others take a more complete view of being healthy, particularly men, who can sometimes find themselves left behind in discussions surrounding the mental, emotional and spiritual sides of health.
Teachings, discussions and lessons with community members and elders were intertwined with the physical challenges of moving from checkpoint to checkpoint by foot, bike and canoe, before completing the course and coming together at the finish line for a group photo with all the participants (See story and photo on page 13).
The organizers and volunteers of this event should be commended for creating discussion and bringing awareness to aspects of healthy living that often carry their own stigmas.
Let's hope this only encourages more discussion around being proactive about healthy living, particularly the mental, emotional and spiritual components, to help break the stigmas and build stronger, healthier communities.
