2,000 Miles for Suicide Prevention

I’m Chris Roper, and I’m training for the biggest physical challenge of my life: an IRONMAN 70.3.

Over the past several months, I’ve been working through a 365-day consistency challenge—making time to train, learning new things, and building toward goals that keep getting bigger. There are days for pushing myself and days for recovery. The commitment is to keep showing up.

As I prepare to swim, bike, and run toward that finish line, I want this journey to mean something beyond my own fitness. That’s why I’m turning it into a fundraiser for a cause that is deeply personal to me.

I live with bipolar disorder. When I was 15, I attempted suicide. My aunt, who also lived with bipolar disorder, died by suicide.

I’m also a retired firefighter and paramedic for South Jordan City. Through that work, I helped people during some of the hardest moments of their lives and witnessed the devastating effects of suicide on families, friends, and the emergency services community.

These experiences are why suicide prevention matters so much to me. They’re also why I have a semicolon tattoo on my left wrist. To me, it means that a story can continue. It’s a reminder of my own story—and of my desire to be someone people can turn to when they feel they have nowhere left to go.

Recently, I attended a NAMI support group and decided I wanted to keep going. Connecting with others is part of this journey, too. Supporting NAMI gives me a way to turn something deeply personal into an opportunity to help others.

That’s the purpose behind My Story Continues: 2,000 Miles for Suicide Prevention.

My goal is to swim, bike, and run 2,000 miles through training and race day, raising money for NAMI and encouraging more open conversations about mental health along the way. Completing an IRONMAN 70.3 will be a huge personal milestone. Knowing that the miles can also help support other people gives me another reason to put in the work.

You can be part of this journey by pledging a dollar amount for every mile I complete or making a one-time donation. Every contribution supports the purpose behind this challenge, and every person who joins helps carry the message further.

I’m grateful that my story continues. I’m sharing it because I want others to know theirs can, too.