Military mother braves 100-mile races, spreading awareness of veteran suicides

GALAX, Va. (WDBJ) - Many of us can’t fathom running 100 miles. Rosie Nanette Gagnon couldn’t either, until she did it again, again and again.

The first thing she’ll tell you is running 100 miles isn’t easy. From pavement to mountainside, Gagnon conquered that distance dozens of times, 97 times and counting, to be exact.

“Not even so much it’s the running, it’s the... you’re cold, you’re hypothermic, you’re vomiting, you can’t keep down any liquids, do you have too much salt or not enough salt or, you know, the weather,” explained Gagnon.

But she isn’t enduring that kind of pain for herself.

“Every time I’m out running… I feel like I’m sort of like doing what he wanted to do. That I’m kind of like his feet or his voice," she said.

Gagnon is referencing her son Dexter. He was a Marine Corps veteran who died by suicide in 2018.

Just months before his passing, he gave his mother one final challenge.

“I’d never heard of a 100-miler. And he was like, ‘well, you could do that, mom,’” Gagnon recalled.

Now, she’s taking his challenge to heart and taking it a step further. Her mission is to run 100 100-mile races to honor Dexter, and all military families affected by suicide.

Every single step is a heartfelt reminder to keep going.

“I found that in the 100-mile distance, you go through that a lot where it’s really your body, your mind is telling you to stop, but your spirit’s just like, no, just keep going, just keep going one more step,” said Gagnon. “I guess just the representation to me was so healing that it just seemed to go together, like with the problems [of] suicide and surviving.”

After 7.5 years and nearly 10-thousand miles total, she’ll soon cross her final finish line, completing her 100th race in November.

Gagnon admitted even after all these years, it doesn’t get easier, but it’s worth it.

“Every single race that I run, I always have interaction with people who are affected by suicide. And so to be able to get in a conversation and just to talk while we’re out there about their struggles or, what their family or whatever, or what they personally are dealing with, it’s like, yeah, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

The pain is a small price to pay for the healing it brings.

Gagnon said although it’s an experience she wouldn’t trade for the world, there are financial challenges relating to racing around the country. Her friends have organized a GoFundMe account to help with these expenses, along with helping support Gagnon with the supplies she needs to finish up her last few races.

You can contribute here.