Lubbock firefighters run 48-hour marathon for cancer, mental health awareness

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Lubbock firefighters are raising awareness for cancer and mental health with a 48-hour marathon this weekend.

They are running four miles every four hours for 48 hours. The first trustee for the Lubbock Professional Firefighters’ Association, Jake McCain, says they’re doing this for their colleagues.

“The idea is that every time we go out, we’re going to be talking about issues that are affecting firefighters, and then asking for some donations,” McCain said. “That way we can help our firefighters.”

McCain says this job can take a toll on people, and they particularly want to raise awareness about mental health.

“Part of the problem with mental health, first of all, no one want to talk about it. So, we’re trying to raise awareness so that way we can reduce the stigma around there,” McCain said. “It’s a very stressful job. We have all the normal stresses that we have and then we deal with all of this other stuff on top of it.”

When they go to save lives, firefighters are putting themselves at risk, not just immediate danger, but because of what they’re exposed to.

“Firefighters are more likely to have cancer and be diagnosed from it,” McCain said.

These runners want to spread the word about what their colleagues go through and accept donations to help local firefighters.

“Just making sure that we have resources for our people and positive outlets for them to put their stress and not negative areas,” McCain said.

As well as making sure they can get medical attention, if needed.

“We also have a cancer fund in there,” McCain said. “So, if any of our people or their spouses get cancer, we can assist them with treatment, travel costs, anything that they may need.”

While it’s a hard trek, McCain says it’s important to them to be able to save lives and have each other’s backs.

“I think overall we really feel passionate about taking care of our own people,” McCain said. “We go all the time and take care of people we don’t know, just strangers at the drop of a hat, and this is something we can take care of - the men and women that we work with on a day to day, so it means a lot.”

If you would like to support the firefighters, the times they will be running are listed below. You can also donate to the Lubbock Professional Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation, to support firefighter mental health and cancer programs by clicking here.

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