‘Cameron’s Dream:’ Thousands Run in Speak Up 5K for Mental Health Awareness

Richmond, Va. — More than 2,000 people participated in the 9th annual Speak Up 5K at Byrd Park in Richmond on Saturday.

The competition was held in It is the dream and legacy of Cameron K. Gallagher, who died of an undiagnosed heart attack in 2014.

“She’s been running half marathons and she’s doing that to fight her depression,” Cameron’s mother Grace Gallagher said.

Because of the trauma, her family established the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation (CKG) to fulfill her dream of raising awareness about depression and anxiety in teenagers.

Cameron, who has faced her own struggles with depression and anxiety, realizes that other teenagers are also fighting the pain in silence.

“She knows the statistics — mental illness affects one in five teenagers — but she also understands that the more people ‘SpeakUp’, the more people realize they’re not alone, helping to reduce the stigma around mental health,” CKG officials wrote.

Grace Gallagher, executive director of the CKG Foundation, said Saturday’s event was about more than people coming together to support each other.

“We were able to raise money to get real programs for the students and these kids,” Grace Gallagher said.

Tracy Sears

And before passing Cameron, the teenager ran 5K.

“I think the first thing is a conversation about how important it is to be proactive with your mental health – not reactive. Don’t wait for a crisis to happen,” Grace Gallagher explained. “Make a plan for your mental health just like you would for your physical health, because you never know when it’s going to happen and something unexpected can hit you.”

Grace Gallagher said her son’s dream was to normalize the conversation about mental health.

Grace Gallagher finally gets to the point where she says, “I’m Cameron Gallagher and I have depression.” “I’m not depressed, and we have to respect the whole person and that’s what it’s about.”

The festival was designed by Party Zones and Cameron Inspirations.

“So it’s up to us to be her voice. And you only have that much pain if you have love. So we choose to focus on love,” said Grace Gallagher. “Wow,” I think you’d say. I think she’s smiling. I think she would be proud to have started this.

WTVR CBS 6 is a proud sponsor of the event and Tracy Sears and Bill Fitzgerald served as emcees.

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