2 weeks Ago
A group of men are taking on an extraordinary challenge in memory of their friend who died after struggling with his mental health. Reece Gayler, 27, Toby Graves 29, and Oli Graves 29, will complete an eight-day challenge, running from Swansea to Brighton. The route will begin on May 3 at Clyne Golf Club in Swansea and finishes in East Brighton Golf Club on May 10.
The men are taking on the Mind Over Miles challenge in honour of their friend, Ben, who died following a battle with his mental health. They hope the challenge will encourage others to talk more about mental health, as well as honour Ben’s legacy. “Tragically in January we lost our friend to mental illness," said Reece.
"Me, Toby, and Oli, we play golf together and decided it was a good time to take on a challenge and raise awareness of mental health. “We felt like we didn’t talk enough, and there’s a lot of stigma attached to talking to a mate and reaching out and sharing what you’re going through. So, we wanted to raise awareness of this and be a voice for Ben.
” View this post on Instagram A post shared by @ukmindovermiles Reece said the challenge has helped him deal with his grief. He said: “It’s been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. We’ve gone from not running at all and just thrown ourselves into it.
“It’s been a challenge but me and the boys have been working hard. “Our main motto is turning pain into purpose. We are all struggling mentally but we want to turn it into a positive.
“We’ve gone from three friends who didn’t talk nearly enough, to now talking on a deep level.” The challenge has already raised over £5,000 for mental health charity, Rethink Mental Illness. The charity works to support those impacted by mental health issues and bring meaningful change to health systems and how mental health is perceived.
“It’s an amazing charity," said Reece. "They work massively behind the scenes of the NHS to try and speed up queues for those struggling with mental illness. When Ben was going through a tough time, he was on an 18 month wait list.
” The friends after completing the Brighton Marathon (Image: Reece Gayler) The group of friends hope that one day they will be able to set up their own charity to support those struggling with their mental health. Reece said: “We want to continue this work and do Ben proud. We want to try and become a charity ourselves or even just a hub for people struggling with their mental health.
“We also hope to set up our own ‘plod-cast’ where we go on a 5k and talk to business owners and people and try to get people talking about mental health.” They encourage people to come out and show their support throughout the route. Reece said: “We want to get as much support as we can.
I know Jamie Lang did something similar recently, but it’ll be different as we know we will be very much alone during most of the route. “We want to get people out; they can even join us for points if they want. We want to build a little community throughout the run.
” Donations can be made via the Mind Over Miles JustGiving page and the public can follow their journey on Instagram @UKMindOverMiles.
