Rob Mathews, an alumni of the University of Stirling, is set to run two Ultra-Marathons in two days. His goal is to raise £1,500 in donations for Movember, the world’s leading charity focused on men’s mental health.
Mathews wants to raise awareness about mens mental health as it’s something he struggles with. He wants to inspire people who struggle, to show that everyone can overcome the hard times and turn pain into purpose.
“I had a choice to change and you also have a choice to change. You aren’t defined by your pain, but actually your pain can turn into your purpose.” He stated via instragram.
Mental health is an issue that so many people struggle with, and we often find it difficult to talk about. It is often treated as a taboo topic, especially for men.
Three out of four suicides in the UK are men and men’s mental wellbeing often goes unnoticed as there is such a stigma surrounding the topic.
Mathews wants this marathon to be a sort of gateway to “Start a conversation about mental health.” He wants people to know that it’s okay to talk about these issues.
He himself isn’t even a runner, yet he will be running 112.5km and 10,108 feet of elevation in total.
When asked why he chose a marathon as a way to raise awareness and donations he stated, “I know I needed to do something that people will pay attention to.”
Mathews has been training for the last 16 weeks. As he works as a personal trainer, he’s been coaching himself through the process.
“There’s been a few bumps,” he said. “I’ve been my own guinea pig,”
How can we help?
The event takes place this weekend, the fourth and fifth of May. The marathon is run on the Trail of the Seven Lochs in Inverness. There will be eight stops throughout the trail that people can come along and support him.
Throughout the two days Mathews will be documenting his experience via his instragram, @robmathewscoaching. He will share updates regularly and aims to show the ups and the downs of the process.
You can donate to this cause through this link: https://uk.movember.com/mospace/14139993?utm_source=qrcode&utm_medium=mo_app&utm_campaign=movember&utm_content=app_share_mospace_qr
For information and support for men’s mental health, check out Movembers website: https://uk.movember.com/about/foundation .
If you want to learn more about Rob Mathews’ journey, fellow journalist Aj Whyte will be interviewing Mathews after the marathon. Keep an eye on Brig in the upcoming weeks! https://brignews.com/author/ajwhyte
Featured image credits: Jonathan Boomer
