Back Straight
Jonathan Blackwood, Lethbridge, Alta.
First responders often confront traumatic situations, and rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) are high. Jonathan Blackwood’s story is a testament to the transformative power of running.
Blackwood spent 10 years in the military and 15 years with the Lethbridge Police Service; as it has for many law enforcement officers, for Blackwood, running became an indispensable tool to process trauma associated with their job.
Fifteen years into his career, Blackwood, 44, found himself battling ptsd after an accumulation of traumatic experiences— in particular, the recovery of the body of a 12-year-old who drowned in Lethbridge’s Old Man River. Blackwood has a son similar in age, and the weight of these experiences led him to take a stress leave from the police force to seek treatment.
During this period of recovery, Blackwood found solace in the great outdoors. He found an escape in camping and mountaineering, as well as in running—a new form of therapy that gradually became his main recreational pursuit. Initially a means of supporting the police service at local events like the Lethbridge Police Service Half Marathon, Blackwood says that running became the missing piece in his path to recovery.
While following a run program during his stress leave, Blackwood witnessed the remarkable impact running had on his mental health, especially during the winter months. Not only did it bolster his endurance for his main sports (rock climbing and ice climbing), but it became a catalyst for his healing journey. “Running is the foundation,” Blackwood says. “I will make more time for running than anything else, because I get so much out of the running for my mental health.”
Blackwood completed his first 10k trail race at the Minotaur in Crowsnest Pass in June 2023 (billed as Canada’s hardest 10k race); he was also able to shed unwanted weight and saw success in climbing competitions that he attributes to running.
When he isn’t immersed in the outdoors, Blackwood enjoys spending time with his wife, Kellie, and his son, Quincy; practising yoga; documenting his outdoor pursuits behind his Go Pro; hanging from dry tools inside his custom rock-climbing cave and encouraging his peers to venture into the sport of running.