By Lisa Browning
On my computer is an extensive excel workbook, on which I keep track of clients and projects, timelines, finances, etc. One of the pages of that spreadsheet is a list of Awareness Months and Days for the year … at least those that are relevant to the type of work I do, and the topics my clients tend to focus on.
When I saw that May is Mental Health Month, June is Men’s Mental Health Month, and June 7 is Butterfly Education and Awareness Day, I knew immediately who/what I wanted to focus on for this month’s spotlight.
I first met Clay Williams back in 2016, after a client told me about Clay’s Canal Pursuit for Mental Health, a 785km run ending on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as a mental health fundraiser and awareness event. The first run took place in 2015, and since then Clay has built on the momentum of that event by developing it into an annual relay run, and creating Canal Pursuit Productions which hosts other running events and podcasts connecting fitness and mental health. In 2019, he was the Run Director of the Monarch Ultra, a 4,300km relay run from Peterborough, Ontario to central Mexico, following the flight path of the monarch butterfly, in order to raise awareness of a population in decline.
Following are a few questions I asked Clay about his involvement in ultra marathons, and his responses to those questions.
- You’ve been involved in ultra marathons to raise awareness for two different causes: mental health issues and monarch butterfly conservation. How did you come to be involved in each of them?
Clay: After running my first marathon in 2005, I started dedicating my longest or toughest run of each year to a different charity. In 2015, I created the Canal Pursuit as a mental health fundraiser and after finding out how poor Canada’s mental health care system is, I have stuck with mental health for the past 10 years. I got involved with the Monarch Ultra when I was asked to join the project by a friend who had run in the Canal Pursuit the previous year. She liked the way I had organized the week-long event.
- There’s an interesting correlation, I think … given that butterflies are often considered a symbol of hope. Is there a connection for you, in regard to how each of these advocacy efforts has helped you on your own healing journey?
Clay: For me, the significant connection is running really long distances. The extreme run is the thing that gets people’s attention so they can hear the advocacy message, and out of necessity I’m super focused on the things that need to be taken care of so I can run that far. I know that running has been a great stabilizer for my mental health, and I have to confess that during my runs, as spring grows into summer, I keep an eye out for milkweed plants and monarch butterflies.
- What are the greatest gifts you’ve received as a result of this involvement?
Clay: Early on I learned that if you’re doing something that’s good and that’s right, people will want to help. It really is a gift to know that if I stay on the right track there will always be others who are willing to support me. Running for a cause helps keep me motivated to run, and running has kept me in excellent health.
- What were the most difficult challenges?
Clay: The biggest challenge when running the Canal Pursuit was self-doubt during those times when I was giving my all while running and not feeling like anyone was listening to my message. The biggest challenge during the Monarch Ultra was working with a team. I’ve been a lone actor for a long time!
- What is your advice to someone who has a passion for which they’d like to step out of their comfort zone?
Clay: I’ve used visualization for decades, I always try to visualize what it feels like to finish the project I’m working on. If I can clearly see what my goal looks like, feels like, after going past all of the obstacles, then I know I’ll get there. So I work with that visualized image in mind. Remember that all the greatest things in life are on the other side of fear. Make big plans, put details to your plans, visualize the finish, then do it!
Having lived through the suicide deaths of two close family members and mental health diagnoses of other family members, Clay Williams has found his voice as a mental health advocate, and running helped him do it. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Mood Disorders Society of Canada, and has been invited to Ottawa on three occasions, to speak on Parliament hill about mental health care in Canada. He has written two books—Ten Days to Get Here, about Clay’s physical journey as an ultra distance runner, and about the family history that led to him being a mental health advocate.; and The Clock Tower Tour, about an eleven-day motorcycle road trip to the Gulf of Mexico and back, through 13 U.S. states and past dozens of clock towers and town clocks. His latest book, The Monarch Ultra, will be available at the Guelph screening of “The Monarch Ultra” documentary, taking place at the Bookshelf on June 5.
For more information about Clay, visit www.canalpursuit.com, and for information about the documentary screening, visit www.ottbookstore.com/whats-new
