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SEVEN MARATHON CHALLENGE

In 2019, my son Tim Jones, at the young age of 17 took his
own life. A popular member of the horseracing community in and around Middleham in North Yorkshire, part of Micky Hammonds training team and a gifted equestrian rider, the grief felt by many was heavy.

No-one knew of Tim's worries - he didn't share any of his worries with his friends or us, his family. 

This is an all too familiar story - suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and so many go under the radar because they keep their struggles to themselves.

Since then, I’ve been working with Racing Welfare and
embarked on a campaign to raise awareness about mental health and train members of the horseracing industry in simple techniques to spot and support friends and colleagues who may be going through difficult times. Over the past two years the campaign has trained over 450 people across the UK to recognise the
signs of those dealing with mental health struggles, signpost to services and support their colleagues. There is no doubt that this group of people working across the industry has helped prevent mental health challenges escalate into life threatening situations, which is the ultimate goal.

I chose running and exercise to both manage my grief AND
raise money to support the campaign. Running (even at the age of 58!) has a hugely beneficial impact on mental health – and as I’ve discovered, helps build resilience, which has helped deal with the savage grief of losing a child.

So, while I’m proud to have raised a significant amount of
money already, this year I’ve set my sights on a huge challenge – and one that I hope will capture the imagination of the public and raise more funds to continue with the hugely important role of supporting the mental and physical health of people from across racing’s communities. This year, I will run 7 marathons across 7 different countries – starting in Rome, then running around
Paris, Barcelona and Edinburgh then onto Madrid, London and finishing at the home of the marathon, Athens.

I will be joined on the challenge at various points by
friends, running because they know the benefits of exercise on wellbeing AND they want to help train even more people.

Suicide and self-harm is all too common across society –
through training and better awareness of the signs on distress and an increased recognition of the benefits of exercise we can make an impact.

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. If like us, you feel it’s important to provide vital support services for anyone affected and prevent avoidable tragedy, please donate what you can and you can
help us to make a difference.

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