Wallace's Weekly Wrap - A different kind of Marathon

Wallace's Weekly Wrap

Happy Friday you wonderful humans.

Over the last 7 or so weeks of isolation, or lockdown, or quarantine or whatever you want to call it, we have all experienced the vast spectrum of human emotions

I know I have at times felt inspired, powerless, joyful, withdrawn, content, disillusioned, overwhelmed, helpless, and thankful and everything in between. From the conversations I've had I know had many others have felt the same.

Usually, when the world is 'normal' when we know what to expect from our day, we experience a range relatively in check with what we consider typical. We have pre programmed our responses and feelings in the same way that we learn to navigate through our routines and interactions. But, as you know, over the past few months those pathways have been thrown out the window, our whole lives have been thrown upside down. 

We have all been affected differently, we all experience contrasting feelings at different times. But we all share the burden that this universal, chaotic circumstance has placed upon us. 

Weddings, holidays, birthdays, important milestones have all been postponed, attempted virtually or cancelled. Mothers Day on Sunday will look very different to how we would like to to. ??

It has never been as important as it is now to empathise with your fellow human, to look them in the eye (virtually if you have to) and help them through the next few weeks and months. 

As a business, Virtus looks completely different from what it did 6 weeks ago. No blue turf, no barbells or kettlebells. The coaches aren't walking around the coaching floor connecting, correcting and laughing as they interact with our athletes. The high fives, fist bumps, hugs and pats on the back have stopped. Our ability to express our craft, to share it with people we love in a physical capacity has ceased. 

We are not alone. We like many others, have been hit incredibly hard by the circumstances. But that's just what they are, circumstances. What we do now is what is important. How we act and connect and communicate with the Virtus Family is what will get us through this chapter. It's what will allow Virtus to come back an evolved version of what it was before. One which live by our values of community, world-class coaching and excellence more than ever before. 

As individuals, we have all been, and for the time being, will continue to go through the emotional wringer. We will continue to be challenged, we will continue to have ups and we will continue to have downs. How we band together and lean on each other, will determine how we as individuals and as a collective come through the next few weeks and months.

With all of this in mind, we believe that the issues that surround a prolonged isolation, both physical and emotional cannot be underestimated. The impact this is having and will continue to have on the mental health and wellbeing on our community is immense. And we believe with everything that we stand for that this is a conversation that we need to be having more often. A conversation that can, has and will continue to save lives. 

We need to talk about this. But we also need to take action, and I'm the kind of person who believes that action speaks louder than words. Rather than continue to yell it out, Simon Cooper (yeah that guy) and I are going to run a different kind of marathon. 

A marathon designed to raise awareness of the importance of this conversation in the now. 

A marathon that will lean into our three pillars at Virtus. 

Community | Performance | Education

Community:  With many small businesses, owners, staff members and customers doing it tough, we will be using the 42km run, to visit 10 local coffee shops along the way. To check-in, and celebrate their tenacity. 

Performance:  Virtus stands for performance, and although it's certainly not our chosen event, running 42km is certainly a way to show that with the right intention and perseverance we can utilise our physical capacities to complete this run

Education:  It has come leaps and bounds over the past few years, but we still have a ways to go to learn more about anxiety, depression and mental health. We will use this run to interview a couple of wonderful humans and share some understanding around these issues.

Next Friday, the Marathon for Mental Health will be taking place. We would love for you to get on board and support this cause. Open the conversation around mental health, and look after each other. 

We are all in this together

Wallace