Run for the brain

FARAI MUTSAKA
JOHANNESBURG (AP) a�� A young Zimbabwean who has set off on a run to raise funds for mental health patients says her friends think she is crazy trying to do 724 kilometers (450 miles) in 17 days.

a�?I intend to prove them right,a�? Nell English told The Associated Press. a�?I am crazy about making sure I fundraise a bit of money for the Zimbabwe National Association for Mental Health. Those guys dona��t have any resources.a�?

Breathing heavily on the phone, she had just completed the first leg of a journey that will take her from the capital Harare to the resort town of Victoria Falls. She intends to run the equivalent of a marathon everyday for 17 days.

The 27-year-old said she initially hoped to raise a modest goal of $1 000 a�?because I started planning this late.a�? But by the time she set off from Harare, she already had $2,500 in donations.

a�?I want to raise awareness for mental health now because ita��s so stigmatised,a�? she said. a�?There is a lot of support for animals and other causes but mental health doesna��t seem to attract a lot of attention, thata��s why I am doing it.a�?

Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa last year said an estimated 1,3 million of Zimbabwea��s 13 million people have mental health issues because of the countrya��s depressed economic conditions and drug abuse.

English said she started running and hiking as a young child with her father, Christopher, who combined his interest in sport and health issues by coaching Zimbabwea��s paralympic athletes.

a�?I love this because I have always preferred to run alone, without all the competitiveness,a�? she said of her run to Victoria Falls. a�?The cause makes it even more worthwhile.a�?