Walk for the Wounded treks across Ottawa Valley Labour Day weekend

Participants in the 2023 Walk for the Wounded make their way down the Algonquin Trail. Sept. 2, 2023. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

A handful of military members, veterans and first responders are spending their Labour Day weekend walking a marathon across the Ottawa Valley.

Now into its fourth year, Walk for the Wounded is an event that raises money for Wounded Warriors Canada and fights to break the stigma around mental health for military members and first responders.

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This year's event raised more than $50,000, pushing the organization's total over $260,000 since 2020.

"It feels more normal to discuss mental health in the work setting whereas 5 to 10 years ago it was that stigma of not wanting to bring it up, not wanting to talk about it," says Walk for the Wounded founder and director Dylan Pace, who is also a Canadian Armed Forces veteran.

"It's coming together to put in some suffering to represent those that are suffering from mental health and also honoring those that we have lost."

This year's event challenges teams to walk four legs, each 42-kilometres long, from CFB Petawawa to the finish line near Carleton Place. Along the way, participants also complete 22 push ups every hour, an acknowledgement of the 22 soldiers in the United States that take their lives everyday due to mental health issues.

Participants in the Walk for the Wounded do 22 pushups every hour as they make their way from CFB Petawawa to Carleton Place, Ont. Sept. 2, 2023. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

Pace says the strenuous journey is a representation of what those battling mental health problems struggle with daily.

"Even if your feet are sore, your knees are sore, a week from now, you're gonna be feeling pretty good. Months from now, you're hardly going to remember. For the people that are suffering, a week from now, a month from now, they're only that much further into the same battle that they're going through."

The marathon-long walk also allows those from different experiences to spend time together along the journey.

"While we're out there, I think it's a good chance to meet people you haven't met before, interact with them, share your hardship experiences and that gives a good foundation for the years to come as well," said Jeff Jorgensen, co-founder and director of the walk.

Armed forces veteran and retired police officer Chris Tracey is participating in the Walk for the Wounded for the first time this long weekend.

"One of the things that we miss is that camaraderie, that sense of family and knowing that somebody's got you if you stumble," he says. "This has given us that."

Desire Krieger is a local OPP officer in the Ottawa Valley and has put together a team of co-workers to participate in the walk this year and previous.

"The more we can bring attention to it—that it's okay to talk to people about what's going on, it's okay to ask for help and we're all here to support you—that's really what I hope people get out of this."

This year's walk is set to finish Sunday afternoon at Synergy Farm in Ashton.