The Story Behind "Run for Every Chris"

"When I was thirteen, we lost my brother to suicide. He was a freshman in high school, he was athletic, very funny, he was the class clown." 

The Kirstein family lost their son Chris in 1994.

" We didn't realize there was a different side to him that we were unaware of.  We didn't know the questions to ask, we didn't know the things to look for," said Jenni Kirstein. 

Chris' sister, Jenni, is making sure her brother's legacy lives on. 

"I thought, 'what would be a good way for me to help? What would be a good way for me to kind of assist other families so that they ether didn't have to go through what we did, to know to look for the signs, " said Jenni. 

"Run for Every Chris" is giving other families a safe place to speak out. 

"We wanted to kind of create at atmosphere where it's okay to meet somebody and talk about it so run for every Chris creates that environment. Whether it be 20 hers or six years ago or even six months ago. We really want to try and bring help to the masses. It's  just kind of another way for our family to help others.  This is who we are and this is our family and we need to support other families that are going through the same thing or have gone through the same thing," said Jenni.

"Run for Every Chris" is helping the Kirstein family, years after Chris' death. 

"Obviously, I the loss of my brother doesn't ever go away, so I think about him daily, all the time. It definitely is allowing us to re-heal again, years after. It's really been a blessing for all of us. This is something that does not need to be pushed aside and we don't need to be silent anymore. We definitely need to see the signs early and catch the signs, know what to look for and to be able to talk about it and I think Run for Every Chris does that."

This is the 2nd year for the run. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in Fayetteville. 

Proceeds benefit the Arkansas Crisis Center. 

To learn more about the Run for Every Chris, click here.