Dozens embrace cold and rain for Heroes on the Hill challenge in Burnsville

A brave group in Burnsville, Minnesota, battled through Saturday's brisk rain for a good cause. 

While most Minnesotans were sleepy snuggling, Sarah Zyvoloski and M.E. Heald had a sloppy start to the day, soldiering on and sprinting up and down Buck Hill at Heroes on the Hill.

"[Heald] talked me into doing it," Zyvoloski said. "She did give me an out to volunteer if I wanted to, and I was like, 'we can participate.'"

"I think the goal today is 13 [miles], for me at least," Heald said.

The two, and dozens of others, committed to run the 1-mile loop up and down the hill to raise money to promote mental health resources for first responders and veterans.

"Mental illness, first responder, military, all of us struggle with a lot of things in our world," Heald said. "And doing something together and donating and raising funds for mental health awareness and suicide prevention is near and dear to my heart already, as I know it was to Sarah, so I knew I could kind of push that a little bit."

And every step is a step forward. 

"It's the heroes. It's the everyday heroes that we have. The first responders and the veterans that we actually fundraise for," said Julie Pagano, Heroes on the Hill co-founder. "They go out and they push themselves and they give themselves for us everyday, we want to give back to them. And this is our way of saying 'hey, we want to celebrate you so come on out, test yourself and we'll be with you all day long.'" 

This is the event's third year. Organizers say this year, they've been able to support veterans and first responders of all kinds.