When Team Samaritans runner Mhaine first decided to run the Falmouth Road Race, it wasn’t because she considered herself a runner or because she had been looking for a cause to attach to a race. It came from something quieter, more familiar: the everyday weight of other people’s emotions, and the small, unexpected ways they show up in her life.
In her work running a café, she’s learned to notice things most people rush past. The way someone hesitates before sitting down. The difference between a “good” and a “fine.” The moments when a customer who came in just for coffee ends up staying longer than they meant to, slowly letting something heavier out into the open. Over time, she’s come to understand how often people are carrying anxiety, loneliness, or stress without ever naming it—and how powerful it can be when someone simply offers a steady, human presence in return.
That experience is what made suicide prevention feel personal, even without a single defining story. It’s the accumulation of those quiet interactions. The belief that connection doesn’t always have to be big or dramatic to matter. Sometimes it’s just being there long enough for someone to feel less alone than they did when they walked in.
Running with Team Samaritans has deepened that perspective. Training isn’t just a checklist of miles—it’s become a reminder of consistency, especially on the days when life feels full or scattered. Mhaine finds herself thinking about what this race represents when motivation dips: that showing up still counts. That effort doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. That the same idea applies beyond running, too, whether it’s checking in on someone, having a hard conversation, or simply being present when it would be easier not to be.
Along the way, the fundraising journey has opened something unexpected: honesty from people in her life. Friends, coworkers, customers, even acquaintances have shared stories they hadn’t spoken about before—experiences with loss, struggle, and mental health that surfaced naturally in conversation. Those moments have stayed with her, not just because of what was shared, but because of what it represented: trust and a sense that this work creates space for people to speak more openly than they usually do. It has made the experience feel less like raising money for a race and more like being gently folded into something much larger and more human.
She’s also quick to point to the people who have carried her through the process. Her roommate and close friend, Amber, has been a steady training partner and sounding board—someone working in the mental health field as a clinical counselor, offering both practical accountability and a deeper lens into the work behind the cause. Lori, The Samaritans’ Board member who first introduced her to the organization, played a key role in bringing her into the fold. Beyond that circle, she’s been surprised in the best way by the people around her; customers, coworkers, family, and friends have shown up with encouragement, donations, or even just a simple question about how training is going.
As race day approaches, Mhaine describes feeling grateful more than anything else. Aware that the course will be physically challenging, but also aware that she’s part of something bigger than herself. She knows there will be moments on the course that feel hard, and she expects she’ll return to the same thought she’s carried through training; this discomfort is temporary, but the meaning behind it isn’t.
What she hopes most is that her participation helps normalize something simple but often unspoken: mental health is part of everyone’s life in some way, even when it isn’t visible. People who seem like they have everything together can still be struggling. Asking for help is not a weakness, but a form of connection.
If even one person feels a little less alone, or a little more willing to speak up because of this journey, she says that will be enough.
Support Mhaine’s fundraising journey on her Race Roster page.