In the early morning on September 9th, Colin Lowther will depart his Norfolk residence and put sneakers to pavement. The 21-year-old ODU student will be undertaking a 132-mile run through Norfolk and Virginia Beach. For those who aren’t familiar with the misery of running extreme lengths, 132 miles is longer than most ultramarathons, which usually top out at 100 miles. For most of us ordinary humans, that’s a nearly impossible physical feat. 

Colin isn’t taking on 132 miles of pavement to show off; he’s doing it to raise awareness of an important issue. Approximately 132 people die every day in the United States by suicide, and Colin demands more folks to take note. After his own suicide attempt on January 1st, 2020, Colin “was frustrated with the stigma surrounding mental illness and wanted to do everything I could to combat that.” He hopes that taking on this immense feat will spread awareness about suicide and mental health issues. 

Run for 132 has raised over $14,000 to be split among these organizations: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Coastal VA Chapter; the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) VA Chapter. 

Follow along with Colin’s journey on Instagram (@runforthe132) and Facebook (facebook.com/runforthe132) and on their website (runforthe132.com). Community members can join the recently launched “132 Challenge”. They may sign up to run 1.32 or 13.2 miles and share their run on their social media to help break the stigma. Participants are also welcome to make an optional donation.

Paul Stetson Rice

Chelsea, NFK

Paul is the creator of NFKVA.com. He was born and raised in Norfolk, graduated from Virginia Tech, and narrowly avoided law school. Chat with him about economics, entrepreneurship, hip-hop, and hiking. When he's not working on five different projects, you'll catch him sharing a beer with friends at a local brewery.