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Mental Health Matters 5K

Mental Health Matters 5K founder shares her story and why she started the event:

Erica Meisner founded Mental Health Matters in an effort to create more visibility within the Charlotte community for mental health. As a passionate runner and mental health advocate she saw a need for a race that was not available within the community.

Running is something she started with athletic conditioning but it turned into a love from there, races are a fun opportunity to bring people together and bring some excitement surrounding a specific cause.

"I felt ashamed when I struggled with anxiety and the physical symptoms that came with it. I delayed seeing my free university counselor because to me that meant I failed myself in some degree and instead I suffered in silence. When I did work up the courage to walk into the office I just broke down. I felt relief just talking to someone who could understand and help me when I couldn't even process why I felt the way I did. You are not a failure, weak or enough just because you need help. I know if I felt that way, I'm sure others do as well. I know seeing mental health out there more (just as we do other causes) would have made me feel like I wasn't the only one in this situation, which I wasn't! We all struggle at times.

Visibility and representation matters. I really love running and thought this was a great way to get people’s attention surrounding such an important and underlooked topic. It’s an opportunity to create awareness in a fun way and see the excitement that a race can bring; and most importantly try to make a difference… if I can positively affect one person, then I know I have succeeded.”

This race and event is meant to do just that, create awareness so we can flip the script on mental health with the goal to normalize the fact we all go through times that challenge our mental health.

It's a day to create hope, find comfort in solidarity, celebrate running, and join together as a community while leaving ours a little brighter.

Special Thank You to Our Sponsors!