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One of the Flying Pig Weekend's shortest events, the ASICS Blue Jean Mile, may be its most impactful.
For the second annual running of the Blue Jean Mile at the Flying Pig Marathon on May 1, Pig Works and ASICS are partnering with 1N5, a Cincinnati-based non-profit working to reduce stigma surrounding mental health. The event is run in conjunction with the Fifty West Mile, held at 7 p.m. on Friday.
So named because one in five individuals deal with a mental health condition, 1N5 provides suicide prevention training in schools, workplaces and communities. Nancy Eigel-Miller, the founder and executive director of 1N5, said mental health is important for everyone to be aware of.
"We're trying to normalize the conversation as much as possible with people about how to take care of your brain," Eigel-Miller told The Enquirer. "Everybody has mental health, and we need to do things to take care of it."
Jess Hartley, 1N5's development manager and Turpin High School's head softball coach, said the marriage between mental health and athletics at the Blue Jean Mile is a natural one.
"We know that healthy activities and exercise are really protective for our mental health," Hartley told The Enquirer. "I think the Blue Jean Mile is a great opportunity to raise visibility."
Six years ago professional middle-distance runner Johnny Gregorek was looking for a way to honor his late brother Patrick, who had died by suicide at just 21 years old. Johnny wanted to celebrate his brother's sense of humor, and thus set out to set the world record for fastest mile in a pair of blue jeans.
Equipped with a pair of ASICS, Levi's jeans, and the goal to raise $2,500 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Gregorek started something larger than imagined. He set the world record, raising over $37,000 as the running community rallied behind his mission, and ASICS decided to turn a Gregorek's run into annual events.
The ASICS Blue Jean Mile officially began in 2021 and has now spread across the country. Participants don their favorite jeans and run, jog, and walk for a mile-long race to promote and raise money for mental health. The 2026 Blue Jean Mile during the Flying Pig Weekend will see Pig Works and ASICS partnering with 1N5 once again, making a joint donation to help spread awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
As with Gregorek and the Blue Jean Mile, Eigel-Miller founded 1N5 in response to personal tragedy. In 2008, Eigel-Miller lost her husband, Jim, to suicide. She said it came as a surprise to everyone who knew him.
"My husband had a very big personality," Eigel-Miller said. "He didn't really ever talk about mental health, he was loud and goofy and everyone loved him."
In dealing with the loss, Eigel-Miller decided to do research on suicide and mental health. She didn't come from a mental health background, working in market research, but wanted to know if there were already organizations working to increase awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
"There were definitely signs that I was unaware of, because those were not on my radar at all," Eigel-Miller said. "I just started looking at when mental illness starts, and were there organizations doing preventative education?"
As it turns out, mental illness begins very early. Over 50% of mental illness will surface by age 14, and 75% is diagnosable by 25. Eigel-Miller founded the James W. Miller Memorial Fund in 2010 and has built 1N5 to fill the gap in suicide prevention education. Working with local youth is a big part of 1N5's mission to prevent suicide.
Hartley has been working with Cincinnati youth for over 17 years but not always in a direct mental health capacity. She's the head softball coach at Turpin High School and has been coaching there since 2009. Hartley joined 1N5 after seeing the effects of mental illness at Turpin and nearby Anderson High School, after each school saw students lose their lives to suicide.
"I feel really close to the cause because I understand how important it is for teachers, coaches and any adults to be equipped with tools to support the mental health of their students," Hartley said.
It's changed the way Hartley coaches her players, making mental health a priority for all her athletes.
"It's something that we talk about on a regular basis in our program," Hartley said. "Just normalizing those conversations and doing check-ins with our athletes."
To help improve mental health across Cincinnati, 1N5 holds programming in local schools, workplaces and community organizations. They use data-driven techniques to help people overcome the stigma surrounding mental health and give people the tools to take care of their brains.
"We do a lot of evidence-based training to teach people tools to stay healthy and recognize when someone's struggling," Hartley said. "All of the training is really about normalizing conversations around mental health, encouraging openness, and reducing fear and shame."
The Blue Jean Mile isn't just a fundraiser to continue the work 1N5 is already doing in the community. Hartley, a former Flying Pig participant, said the event builds connections and increases mental health visibility.
"Connection is really important for mental health and in the running community there's a strong sense of connection," Hartley said. "The Blue Jean Mile combines movement and community and purpose all in a really visible way."
While the challenge of promoting mental health is never-ending, Eigel-Miller said the impact of 1N5's work is already felt across the Cincinnati community. After experiencing the corporate world before starting the non-profit, she said the response has been incredibly rewarding.
"I was in the business arena and you do your job and go home, but now we hear nonstop from people that you saved somebody, that it changed their life," Eigel-Miller said. "A lot of parents talk to us about how helpful it is for their kids to have this language and to work with them on the different tools."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Flying Pig Marathon's Blue Jean Mile, 1N5 promotes mental health
Continue reading...
For the second annual running of the Blue Jean Mile at the Flying Pig Marathon on May 1, Pig Works and ASICS are partnering with 1N5, a Cincinnati-based non-profit working to reduce stigma surrounding mental health. The event is run in conjunction with the Fifty West Mile, held at 7 p.m. on Friday.
So named because one in five individuals deal with a mental health condition, 1N5 provides suicide prevention training in schools, workplaces and communities. Nancy Eigel-Miller, the founder and executive director of 1N5, said mental health is important for everyone to be aware of.
"We're trying to normalize the conversation as much as possible with people about how to take care of your brain," Eigel-Miller told The Enquirer. "Everybody has mental health, and we need to do things to take care of it."
Jess Hartley, 1N5's development manager and Turpin High School's head softball coach, said the marriage between mental health and athletics at the Blue Jean Mile is a natural one.
"We know that healthy activities and exercise are really protective for our mental health," Hartley told The Enquirer. "I think the Blue Jean Mile is a great opportunity to raise visibility."
Origins of the ASICS Blue Jean Mile
Six years ago professional middle-distance runner Johnny Gregorek was looking for a way to honor his late brother Patrick, who had died by suicide at just 21 years old. Johnny wanted to celebrate his brother's sense of humor, and thus set out to set the world record for fastest mile in a pair of blue jeans.
Equipped with a pair of ASICS, Levi's jeans, and the goal to raise $2,500 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Gregorek started something larger than imagined. He set the world record, raising over $37,000 as the running community rallied behind his mission, and ASICS decided to turn a Gregorek's run into annual events.
The ASICS Blue Jean Mile officially began in 2021 and has now spread across the country. Participants don their favorite jeans and run, jog, and walk for a mile-long race to promote and raise money for mental health. The 2026 Blue Jean Mile during the Flying Pig Weekend will see Pig Works and ASICS partnering with 1N5 once again, making a joint donation to help spread awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
Suicide prevention core to 1N5 mission
You must be registered for see images attach
As with Gregorek and the Blue Jean Mile, Eigel-Miller founded 1N5 in response to personal tragedy. In 2008, Eigel-Miller lost her husband, Jim, to suicide. She said it came as a surprise to everyone who knew him.
"My husband had a very big personality," Eigel-Miller said. "He didn't really ever talk about mental health, he was loud and goofy and everyone loved him."
In dealing with the loss, Eigel-Miller decided to do research on suicide and mental health. She didn't come from a mental health background, working in market research, but wanted to know if there were already organizations working to increase awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
"There were definitely signs that I was unaware of, because those were not on my radar at all," Eigel-Miller said. "I just started looking at when mental illness starts, and were there organizations doing preventative education?"
As it turns out, mental illness begins very early. Over 50% of mental illness will surface by age 14, and 75% is diagnosable by 25. Eigel-Miller founded the James W. Miller Memorial Fund in 2010 and has built 1N5 to fill the gap in suicide prevention education. Working with local youth is a big part of 1N5's mission to prevent suicide.
Hartley has been working with Cincinnati youth for over 17 years but not always in a direct mental health capacity. She's the head softball coach at Turpin High School and has been coaching there since 2009. Hartley joined 1N5 after seeing the effects of mental illness at Turpin and nearby Anderson High School, after each school saw students lose their lives to suicide.
"I feel really close to the cause because I understand how important it is for teachers, coaches and any adults to be equipped with tools to support the mental health of their students," Hartley said.
It's changed the way Hartley coaches her players, making mental health a priority for all her athletes.
"It's something that we talk about on a regular basis in our program," Hartley said. "Just normalizing those conversations and doing check-ins with our athletes."
Blue Jean Mile supports 1N5's outreach
You must be registered for see images attach
To help improve mental health across Cincinnati, 1N5 holds programming in local schools, workplaces and community organizations. They use data-driven techniques to help people overcome the stigma surrounding mental health and give people the tools to take care of their brains.
"We do a lot of evidence-based training to teach people tools to stay healthy and recognize when someone's struggling," Hartley said. "All of the training is really about normalizing conversations around mental health, encouraging openness, and reducing fear and shame."
The Blue Jean Mile isn't just a fundraiser to continue the work 1N5 is already doing in the community. Hartley, a former Flying Pig participant, said the event builds connections and increases mental health visibility.
"Connection is really important for mental health and in the running community there's a strong sense of connection," Hartley said. "The Blue Jean Mile combines movement and community and purpose all in a really visible way."
While the challenge of promoting mental health is never-ending, Eigel-Miller said the impact of 1N5's work is already felt across the Cincinnati community. After experiencing the corporate world before starting the non-profit, she said the response has been incredibly rewarding.
"I was in the business arena and you do your job and go home, but now we hear nonstop from people that you saved somebody, that it changed their life," Eigel-Miller said. "A lot of parents talk to us about how helpful it is for their kids to have this language and to work with them on the different tools."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Flying Pig Marathon's Blue Jean Mile, 1N5 promotes mental health
Continue reading...
