A Guelph man is hitting the trail once again later this month to raise money and awareness for men's mental health.
But it is going to look a bit different than the 900 km trek Dom Marini embarked on a year ago on the Bruce Trail in the Niagara region.
"I don't have 30 days to take off again," he told GuelphToday. "That's why I thought to keep it kind of short and sweet, but still make it something that's challenging and hard."
What the full-time Conestoga College student came up with was a five-day challenge, walking 12 miles in 12 hours each day, and staying closer to home.
He'll be starting each day at the trail near The Boathouse on Gordon Street, and following the trail system up the river to the Guelph Lake Dam, before returning the same way to complete the circuit.
And with the theme of the challenge being community, Marini wanted to find a way to get others involved and walk with him at certain points, something Marini said a lot of people asked him about for last year's effort.
"This year, I kind of flipped it on its head and decided to do something local, where it will be very simple for people to get involved," he said.
"It kind of hit all the check marks to do what I'm doing this year, and the way I'm doing it."
Every little bit of activity counts in Marini's eyes. He said exercise and movement is fundamental to mental health.
"For me, if I'm ever in a bad spot, it's because I'm staying still too often, and you can extrapolate that over different portions of life," he said.
"If you're having a bad day, just getting up and going for a walk, you're not going to make the day great but you're at least going to be better off than where you were. That, to me, has been a tool that I've used just to get up and move."
In terms of fundraising, he raised around $4,500 for the Canadian Men's Health Foundation a year ago.
This year, Marini would like to match or surpass that total.
"I don't really have expectations of how things should or shouldn't go. It's what ever happens, happens," he said. "There's an objective, and we're just going to do the best to try to hit that objective, and raise as much money (as possible).
"It's not only about money, it's about sending a message."
Anyone looking to donate can do so on his GoFundMe page.
The walks will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Oct. 26-30.
