A 28-year-old health and wellness advisor plans to do a bear-crawl marathon in honor of his late father and raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.
Devon Lévesque was just 16 when his father died of suicide. Speaking to PEOPLE, he said that his father was his best friend. Losing his father, who was a bodybuilder, was the hardest thing Lévesque has gone through in his life. He described his father as a happy-go-lucky person which explains why it was hard for him to see what his father went through.
View this post on Instagram1 mile with with 30 lbs dumbbells in each hand swipe to see my favorite core exercise. . . . I learned the “navy seal sit up” when I went to the military academy for high school. The key is to not let your hands move away from your body. Only use your core to pull yourself up. One hand on your stomach the other behind your head. One leg straight, one leg bent. This will help you take away any momentum you normal sneak into your core routine. . . Tag the first person you are working out with when gyms reopen & compliment them! . . . #performixhouse #gymshark #menshealth #womenshealth #beachworkout #fitops #2020BearCrawl #mentalhealth _______________________________________ A post shared by Devon Lévesque (@devonlevesque) on May 19, 2020 at 5:06am PDT
Coping with the loss wasn't easy
It was only recently that he has come to terms with the loss. He told Runners World, that speaking about it now felt like a weight coming off his shoulders. And it has now become the driving force that inspires him to help others by raising awareness for veteran mental and health and suicide prevention.
PEOPLE noted that in 2017 alone, 6,139 American veterans died of suicide, the Department of Veterans Affairs data showed. That figure has exceeded the 6,000 recorded each year since 2009.
Cancellation of the NYC Marathon would not stop him
While New York City Marathon has been canceled due to the pandemic, Lévesque will be doing his own unique marathon this weekend - crawl an entire 26.2 miles on all fours in "table-top" position. He admits that he has never completed a marathon in his life but now he would be doing something that most people think is "borderline impossible."
Lévesque has been preparing for this event over the last 12 months which not only includes crawling sessions but regular visits to the doctor as well. He said he is doing the same kind of preparation as people running a marathon would have. That is, putting his body in an uncomfortable state for a long period to give it time to get familiarized and become comfortable.
Runner World noted that bear-crawls can be beneficial to athletes as it engages the core, quadriceps, scapular stabilizers. But this requires whole body strengthening and no body part should be overlooked.
He hopes to raise funds to support veterans
By accomplishing this feat, Lévesque hopes to raise $200,000. Lévesque said that he will donate 100% of raised funds to help 66 veterans through the FitOps foundation. The non-profit organization was founded by Matt Hesse in 2016 with the goal of helping veterans become certified personal trainers.
He said he wants to dedicate the funds to a cause that is close to his heart. FitOps, he said is dedicated to supporting and empowering veterans so they could re-acclimate, as well as raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. So far, he was able to raise more than $100,000.
Lévesque hopes that he will inspire others to reach for their goals. He wants to show them that the impossible can be possible only if you put your mind to it.
