In 2020, Paul Crocombe lost his life to mental ill-health. In 2022, on 26th March, Paul’s son Peter, alongside 3 friends, will be embarking on a record-breaking journey conquering the length of Britain on foot in just 7 days – and all in aid of building a better future for those suffering as Paul did.
MENTAL MILES is the story of four friends, taking on a non-stop running relay from Land’s End to John O’Groats, whilst raising awareness and essential funds for mental health charity, Sport in Mind.
Paul Crocombe was one of 5,224 people who took their own lives in the UK in 2020. Countless others struggled with mental health issues. Coming from an era and a sporting background where bottling up emotions was the norm, coupled with a lack of appropriate professional support available, Paul felt he had only one option to escape the pain he was in. The aim of the Mental Miles challenge is to help make sure others are spared the same fate.
Next Saturday, Liam Bendell, Gus Barton, Pete Crocombe and Jack Mayhew are aiming to complete the 900-mile (1,4480km) challenge in under 7 days by running consecutive 90-minute solo shifts, all day and all night. Along the way, they will climb over 44,000 feet – the equivalent of one and half times the height of Everest.
Supported by two campervans throughout, the team will eat and sleep on the road, constantly moving until they reach the most northerly point of Great Britain. Through teamwork, resilience, preparation and determination – MENTAL MILES aims to inspire and break down the seemingly impossible, into something achievable.
Hoping to raise £20,000 for Sport in Mind as well as life-saving awareness for the crucial work undertaken by Sport in Mind, you can find the MENTAL MILES fundraising page, here:
