Nurses run 50 km across Montreal to show support for their colleagues

A group of four Montreal-area nurses ran about50 kilometres on Sunday along a route between nine hospitals and three long-term care homes to send a message.

They want to encourage their colleagues, telling them not to give up despite the pressures of the pandemic reminding them that it is important toverbalize what they are feeling and to take time to recharge their batteries.

Not long into the run, Natalia Mursa Curci, an emergency nurse at theLaSallehospital, told Radio-Canada she was enjoying the day.

"It's going very well. The mood is good. We run at our own pace and are lucky to have good weather," she said on Sunday.

"This year has been difficult for my morale, and I tell myself that physical activity saved my life."

Mlanie Myrand, a nurse practitioner at the Medistat Medical Clinic in Pierrefonds, said she is running in support of all the nurses who have worked so hard during the pandemic .

But, at the same time, Sarah Bachand added, "we must talk about mental health."

Bachand is an operating room nurse at the LaSalle hospital. She said the group is showing their colleagues that even when tired, "we still take the time to take care of our sanity, to run and to do things that are good for us in these difficult times."

WATCH | Sarah Bachand talks about her plan to run:

Nurses to run to 8 Montreal hospitals to raise mental health awareness

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Duration 5:08

Sarah Bachand, a nurse at the LaSalle Hospital talks about the event which coincides with National Nursing Week

She said nurses were sent to other locations to help out, and others went on sick leave. That made for long, exhausting hours on the job.

"Even though it's been a hard year, we still love nursing. We think it's a beautiful profession," she said.

Bachand said the run started at Lakeshore Hospital and ended at the top of Mount Royal and was held in recognition of National Nurses Week in collaboration with Mouvement sant mentale Qubec.

The run served as a fundraiser for the organization, which works to strengthen and develop the mental health of Quebecers.

The event was also held in honour of Sonia Brown, a Montreal-area nurse who took her own life this spring.

Friends, family and the public were all invited to participate in the run by sharing photos of the kilometres travelled by foot or bicycle during the day with the hashtag #MoveWithUs. People are also encouraged to donate toMouvement sant mentale Qubec.