Suicide prevention trust ‘Life Matters’ hosted Laps for Life at North Grounds on Sunday, April 14. Fuelled by the sausage sizzle, the crowd of 200 yellow-dressed attendees cumulatively ran 1,954 km (over the length of Aotearoa) eclipsing the original goal of 365 km before lunchtime. “To say we’re impressed would be an understatement,” said Sophie, a spokesperson for Life Matters.
The kaupapa of Laps for Life echoed everything Life Matters stands for, Sophie told Critic. “Destigmatisation and awareness around suicide prevention is at the core of our mission, that mission being 0 suicides across Aotearoa New Zealand. A huge element of suicide prevention is community response and education. Laps for Life was about bringing the local community together for this cause.”
A dusty Critic joined a similarly dusty OUSA Exec who attended on the day. One of the OUSA exec who attended, Clubs and Socs Representative Emma Jackson, said she “was so hungover” during the event, admitting that she “nearly threw up I think four times.” When she tried running at the beginning of the day, Emma said that she got three laps in before ducking to the bathroom for a cheeky dry heave.
And it turns out she wasn’t the only one. “There was one guy who actually threw up by a tree like three times.” The event was allegedly performed to an audience of a family out on their Sunday morning stroll. But despite the hangover, Emma said she “really enjoyed it” – especially the arts and crafts station. “I dressed up like a cat and forgot I was running with whiskers on my face.”
Numbers dropped off during the day but Emma marched on, lapping the field for the entire eight hours. “Time felt weird at one point because I was like, ‘I've spent maybe eight hours just walking around a circle, and I just watched the sun go from the West to the East.’” Sitting in the bullpen the next day, Emma told Critic that she completed around 25km total (a casual half marathon), eliciting a cry of “Woah, holy fuck” from Academic Rep Stella across the room.
Reflecting on the event, Sophie said, “It was a really incredible day, especially for our first go at an event like this. Our team worked tirelessly to see Laps for Life through, and seeing how well the day went we're all proud of our effort. Kia kaha to everyone who attended, really so proud of our Ōtepoti Dunedin community."