One of my favorite things about Team Still I Run is getting to know the amazing individuals that join our teams. For me, Team Still I Run is more than just raising valuable funds for our organization, it’s about connections and opening up conversations in the name of mental health.
The more we share our stories and talk about mental health, the more we can help get rid of the stigma surrounding it—and that stigma is more detrimental than we know. In a study of close to 100,000 people worldwide, the stigma of mental health is one of the top reasons people do not seek care.
Someone who is amazing at busting the stigma is Ginger Zee, ABC News Chief Meteorologist and Chief Climate Correspondent. She’s written several books chronicling her mental health journey and uses her platform often to talk about mental health. I’ve always been drawn to her story because in 2011, she checked herself into a psych ward just 10 days prior to starting her job at Good Morning America. Not only that, but shortly after, she started running for her mental health and she hasn’t stopped running or moving since.
When I found out we were accepted as a charity partner to the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, I just knew I had to reach out to Ginger to see if she would be interested in representing Still I Run. It’s the perfect fit. She lives in New York, is a mental health advocate, runs for her mental health, and she and I go back a few years.
In 2006, my senior year of college, I was an intern at WOODTV Grand Rapids—the news station where Ginger used to be a meteorologist. I was a news intern, so I mainly spent my time in the news department, but there was one day where I was assigned to watch a made-for-tv-movie about the Avian Bird Flu with Ginger. I forget why, as a meteorologist, she was assigned to watch and report on the movie, but that’s just how local television can be sometimes.
After she started with Good Morning America, she would pop-up in our local Grand Rapids news because it’s kind of a big deal when a local West Michigan person rises to such heights. The stories about her always shared what she was doing for climate change and mental health advocacy. In 2017, shortly after I started Still I Run, my interest was obviously piqued that a local person I once “worked” with, and who also happened to be a part of Good Morning America, was a mental health advocate. I sent her an email about Still I Run, not really expecting a response because she’s an incredibly busy individual. She graciously responded and we’ve been in contact ever since.
I’m so thrilled and thankful she said “yes” to joining Team Still I Run for the NYC Half Marathon. It’s been a privilege and an honor getting to know her better through this program. Not only that, but I’m so delighted she took time out of her day to sit down with me and talk about mental health. Time is our most precious commodity, so the fact she agreed to a short sit down speaks volumes about how passionate she is about mental health.
As if a sit down with Ginger wasn’t enough, she also shared about her race day experience on Good Morning America the day after. You can view that clip here. Having Still I Run mentioned on national television is just so completely amazing to me. I know our organization is helping to save lives, so the fact our mission was shared to a national audience is heartwarming to me.
Big things are ahead for Still I Run… I can just feel it. And I hope and pray that we have another opportunity to hit the national stage on Good Morning America someday. There’s much more of our story to be told!
I’m incredibly grateful to Ginger for everything she has done to further our mission. For taking time out of her day to run for Still I Run, for raising money, and most of all, for helping us to defeat the stigma through the lens of running and movement!
