Mental Health Marathon raises funds for eating disorder charity and hospice

Hospice care and mental wellbeing were the focus of an inaugural ‘Mental Health Marathon’ charity walk around Preston Docks last month.

Mental health support team colleagues Hazel Atherton and Tracy Jackson came up with the innovative idea to organise a sponsored community walk to raise awareness of mental health issues and support a local hospice close to their hearts at the same time.

Tracy said: “We wanted to get friends, family and colleagues together to talk about mental health, meet new people, reap the benefits of exercise, and enjoy being out in the fresh air in a peaceful and tranquil environment, which all enhance our mental wellbeing.

“We wanted to raise money for the eating disorder charity SEED as well as St Catherine’s Hospice which means a lot to so many people, and is very close to my heart as my family has experienced the amazing care of St Catherine’s.

“We didn’t expect the turnout to be as fantastic at it was! The idea was to cover the distance of a marathon between us all, by walking and running around Preston Docks. We asked people to do as much as they could manage, and one man ran 10 laps!

“More than 90 people joined in, including children, parents with babies in prams, and people walking their dogs as part of the challenge. We managed to cover an incredible 247 laps, which equates to 360 miles or 13.87 Mental Health Marathons, which is unbelievable!”

Emily Bate, community engagement assistant at St Catherine’s Hospice in Lostock Hall, said: “The Mental Health Marathon is a really uplifting and innovative idea which has brought members of the community together to raise awareness of an important issue, whilst raising funds for two very worthy causes.

“Mental wellbeing and hospice care really go hand-in-hand because hospice care is very personalised and is centred around the whole person. It doesn’t just focus on physical symptoms of life-shortening illness; it supports people psychologically as well.

“Our diverse team of medical staff along with therapists, social workers, rehabilitation assistants and more, help people to enjoy quality of life and achieve what is important to them, as well as providing emotional and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones.

“We’d like to thank Tracy and Hazel and everyone who took part in this fantastic charity walk for their wonderful efforts in raising awareness of St Catherine’s and donating a brilliant £540 to our charity.”

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