Given the large turnout and the weather, Hard Miles Run organizers couldn’t have asked for a better way to honor Dalles Bergsma’s memory.
The inaugural event, which drew more than 130 participants at Mitchell’s Bay Saturday, aimed to raise funds to support mental initiatives for first responders and those in the agricultural industry.
Bergsma, a farmer and member of the Dawn-Euphemia Fire Department, seemed to have it all until he took his own life at 27 in November 2020.
His brother, Dustin, said the community response to the run would have meant a lot to Dalles.
“(He’d be) seeing that people actually do care,” he said. “That’s why it’s OK to reach out.
“I’ve been kind of overwhelmed. I knew that people would show up, but not to the degree that they have.”
There was a “gnawing stress Dalles felt in his farming occupation lurking under his bright smile,” his family said in a release before the event.
Nobody fully understood the weight of distress and disappointment he hid behind his sense of humour, or the trauma he witnessed in his first responder role, they added.
The family created a charity called Three Oaks Cabin to address the mental health struggles, emotional fatigue and trauma experienced by farmers and first responders. Serving as a place of respite, it will be located on the family’s farm in Shetland.
Dustin said they expect to open by October.
“There’s been a few challenges here and there with the wet weather this spring that delayed construction, but looks like we’re on track,” he said.
Proceeds from the Hard Miles 5/10 km walk/run/bike event will go to the cabin build, as well as I’ve Got Your Back 911.
There was no fundraising target, but they’ve raised $10,000 so far, Dustin said.
For more on Three Oaks Cabin, visit threeoakscabin.com.