Across Queensland, Emergency Services Personnel are gearing up to take part in the upcoming Run Army event, taking place in Brisbane and Townsville over the next week.
Diesel Stenholm is among those from the State Emergency Service (SES) who is fuelling up for Run Army in both Brisbane and Townsville.
Run Army is an annual 5km or 10km walk/run event to raise funds for frontline and emergency services organisations.
Diesel is a volunteer Local Controller in Longreach and has been with the SES for six years.
No stranger to the event, this year will mark his fourth time participating as he's registered for not just one Run Army event, but the 10km run in both Brisbane and Townsville.
"I love that this event brings everyone together to use exercise to promote physical and mental health with the bonus of being able to raise funds for charity," says Diesel.
"Physical exercise has been shown to increase mental as well as physical health, so it's a real win-win."
An inspiration to those of us who are still trying to find our stride, Diesel only started running at age 45.
To help him train, he does two to three runs each week in the outdoors, combining interval runs and longer slow pace runs. As well as strength training, gym a few times a week.
Diesel is fundraising for an even better SES.
"I'm currently studying for a Diploma in Mental Health and would love to see the SES volunteers and their families benefit from programs that would help build mental health resilience," he says.
Run Army provides an opportunity for us to give back to our SES volunteers.
SES have over 5,000 volunteers across Queensland who give up their time to help Queenslanders when they need it most.
The SES Gift Fund is the Run Army beneficiary for the SES, with funds raised to be directed toward member wellbeing enterprises, such as development of wellbeing hubs for activations and deployments, as well as products and services that support the welfare, safety and health of our SES members.
Now is the time to give back to those who give so much to us.
Please consider making a donation today and show your support for the incredible work of our SES volunteers.
You can make a donation at https://runarmyqldses.gofundraise.com.au/
