Race Strives to Give Hope for Recovery From Mental Illness
More than 100 runners and joggers ignored the rising temperatures Sunday morning and turned out at Byram Hills High School in Armonk for what may have been one of the most important races they’ve attempted.
The occasion was Team Daniel’s third annual Run for Hope, a 5K on Byram Hills’ cross-country course to help those with mental illness and to stress that it is possible for those who are suffering that they can live a normal life.
The event was started by North Castle resident Robert Laitman, whose son Daniel was diagnosed 11 years ago with schizophrenia. Laitman and his wife, Ann, are internists, but they were left frustrated by the medical community’s failure to find more effective approaches.
In the years since their son’s diagnosis, they have strongly advocated for changes in the treatment of mental illness in the Unites States, including the establishment of treatment centers that would include behavioral therapy, socialization programs and exercise and prescribing clozapine to a greater percentage of people who have serious persistent mental illness.
“I want you to know that we’re going to continue to support this approach and we will not stop until the suffering ends because there’s too much helplessness and there’s hope,” Laitman said before the start of the race.
Runners were joined post-race by Dick Beardsley, a former world-class marathoner. While Beardsley’s career may be best known for a narrow defeat to Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon, it was the years after he retired from competition where his family was touched by mental illness.
Beardsley recovered from being addicted to prescription painkillers following a serious farming accident and about 20 surgeries. But his adopted son Andrew, suffered from bipolar disorder and several other conditions. Andrew joined the U.S. Army, which he enjoyed and provided him with needed structure and focus, Beardsley said.
After serving in Iraq, Andrew returned home with post-traumatic stress disorder. About a year and a half ago, he committed suicide and there hasn’t been a day where Beardsley hasn’t thought about his son.
The work being done by Team Daniel is helping to bring new perspectives on mental illness and removing stigma, he said.
“They say you can live 40 days without food, seven days without water, a few minutes without air, but you can’t live one second without hope, and that’s what Team Daniel gives to people with mental illness,” Beardsley said.
Motivational speaker Hakeem Rahim, who 17 years ago was diagnosed as bipolar, implored those with mental illness to never stop fighting.
“I could not have imagined that now my life is dedicated to speaking about mental illness, empowering other people to say that it’s okay, you don’t have to give up,” Rahim said. “Depression is something that may be a part of you but (it) is not who you are.”
One of the runners who completed the 5K course was Byram Hills High School Principal Christopher Walsh, the second year that he has participated. Walsh said that the school has been supportive of multiple initiatives to help their students address mental health issues. It’s
Race winner Lukas Patrizio of Port Chester completed the course in 19:14. He has now captured each running of the race.
Although part of the motivation to run was his knowledge of the course from having participated in meets at Byram Hills during high school, Run for Hope tackles a cause that Patrizio believes in. His father is also a psychiatrist at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
“We’ve had, almost everyone has had, someone in the family that’s gone through mental illness,” he said. “It’s sort of a taboo subject in today’s society, and I really like this because we can talk about it, raise awareness and raise funds to help.”
Leonard Pietrafesa (19:41) and Matthew Turk (20:04) finished second and third.
For more information on Team Daniel, visit www.teamdanielrunningforrecovery.com.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
