Event Description

The Guardian One Mile challenge is a 31-day virtual walking designed to raise funds and awareness to reduce veteran and first responder suicide rates in the United States. 

The Guardian Revival One Mile Challenge is about honoring & memorializing 31 guardians we’ve lost to suicide and raising money to reduce the rates of suicide among our guardian populations. This is a virtual challenge that operates on the honor system. Participants walk wherever they are and interact with the challenge online, self-reporting their daily mile.

We offer four entry divisions to participate in the challenge, each requiring a specific amount of weight to carry during your one-mile walk, every day during the month of October — in honor of 31 guardians who we've lost to suicide. 

Registration & Entry

Registration will take place during suicide awareness month, from the 1st to the 30th of September. Participants must sign up by 11:59 PM on September 30th. Registration will close at midnight. No exceptions.

The challenge begins at 12:00 AM on October 1st and ends at 12:00 AM on November 1st.

100% of the profit from your entry fee (not the processing fee) will go directly to support our programs at Guardian Revival.

Why We Walk with Weights

Mental illness is disproportionately high among our nation’s guardians compared to the general population. With mental health stigmas and other barriers to seeking out help, our guardians often sweep their traumatic experiences under the rug, put their uniform back on and return to duty, continuing to serve our nation both domestically & abroad. Stigmas related to mental health treatment among guardians make it even more difficult to address this problem and stem largely from their self-reliant, tough-it-out culture that marginalizes those experiencing distress, ultimately dissuading individuals from seeking treatment.

• Between 18 and 20 veterans die by suicide each day in the U.S.
• Since 2018, military veteran suicides have increased to nearly twice the rate of nonveterans.
• Veterans between the ages of 18 and 34 are three times more likely to die by suicide than their nonveteran counterparts.
• More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty every year.

In addition to honoring our guardians who we've lost to suicide, the Guardian One Mile Challenge extends its relevancy to the general population: each year, over 45,000 Americans die by suicide, and over there are over 1.2 million suicide attempts. Moreover, about 1 in 4 adults suffer from diagnosable mental health disorders. Trauma is something many of us carry, and while no trauma is exactly the same, we recognize that all trauma is traumatic.

Physical activity is proven to improve mental health, reduce stress and anxiety, and decrease depression. We also hope that participating in a physical challenge will hopefully lead participants to live a healthier lifestyle and more exercise. About 80% of Americans don’t get enough exercise, so a secondary benefit of this challenge is to combat our sedentary lifestyles. 

Lastly, the Guardian One Mile Challenge is an opportunity for participants to unplug from technology for a period of time each day to carry out their one-mile walk. The average American watches 3 hours of television and is on social media for 2.5 hours per day. That is 5.5 hours in total of screentime, which is commensurate with the average American’s daily available leisure time. This means that the average American spends nearly ALL of their spare (leisure) time scrolling through social media or watching television. Carving out 20-40 minutes of your day to walk for 31 days is a mental challenge in and of itself, requiring discipline and habitual practice to complete successfully. This makes it an even more rewarding journey to embark on.