By Nicholas Roznovsky
The Race Against Stigma 5K will be held at Crissy Field in San Francisco's Presidio. [Photo courtesy of Subconscious]
On Sunday, September 25, runners will line up along San Francisco's picturesque Crissy Field and take part in a five-kilometer race that's about more than just bragging rights for the winner—it's also about combating the social stigma that often surrounds mental health issues.
Palo Alto-based nonprofit Subconscious is sponsoring the 5K walk/run, its first public outreach event since being formed earlier this year. The organization was created by a team of Bay Area young professionals with a desire to change the public conversation about mental health issues, and power awareness and education for those with mental health disorders, those caring for their affected loved ones, and the next generation of millennials.
A portion of the proceeds from the Race Against Stigma 5K will also be donated to fund mental health research at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute. The exact amount will be announced following the race's conclusion.
Participants will receive a t-shirt and sports bag, along with health snacks and an opportunity to take photos after the race. Runners and walkers of all ages are encouraged to take part. Tickets for the event are now on sale online, and a limited number of walk-up spaces will be available on the day of the event.
About Subconscious
Subconscious is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to raising mental health awareness, promoting education, and encouraging those affected to seek help. Their mission is to create a world in which those with mental health illnesses can find strength in what makes them unique rather than struggle to feel normal. They focus on promoting upstream dialogue and building open communities primarily through online channels that they hope lead to offline discussions.
About UCSF Psychiatry
The UCSF Department of Psychiatry and the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute are among the nation's foremost resources in the fields of child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric mental health. Together they constitute one of the largest departments in the UCSF School of Medicine and the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, with a mission focused on research (basic, translational, clinical), teaching, patient care, and public service.
UCSF Psychiatry conducts its clinical, educational, and research efforts at a variety of locations in Northern California, including UCSF campuses at Parnassus Heights, Mission Bay, and Laurel Heights, the UCSF Medical Center at Mt. Zion, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, the San Francisco VA Health Care System, and UCSF Fresno.
About the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
The UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, established by the extraordinary generosity of Joan and Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill, brings together world-class researchers with top-ranked physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human brain.
The UCSF Weill Institute leverages UCSF’s unrivaled bench-to-bedside excellence in the neurosciences. It unites three UCSF departments—Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurological Surgery—that are highly esteemed for both patient care and research, as well as the Neuroscience Graduate Program, a cross-disciplinary alliance of nearly 100 UCSF faculty members from 15 basic-science departments, as well as the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a multidisciplinary research center focused on finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
About UCSF
UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises two top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area.
