Friends aim to raise £30k by hiking up Brecon Beacons
Friends who once worked at a historic theatre are raising funds to combat depression by climbing three mountains covering a distance of more than two marathons.
The group, who all used to work together at the Albany in Deptford, hope to raise £30,000 by hiking up the Brecon Beacons in Wales for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
The six arts administrators, pictured above, who have all suffered from mental health challenges, are training hard under the demanding eyes of the nearby Commando Temple gym.
They will be taking on the Brecon Ascent challenge, a double mountain marathon in the harsh terrain of the Welsh peaks over 48 hours and 52.4-milea in a loaded military march, trekking for around 16 hours per day, reaching elevation of up to 3,000m a day – the equivalent of climbing Mount Snowdon back-to-back three times or scaling the Burj Khalifa three-and-a-half times per day.
The team have been taking on rigorous military style training with the Commando Temple gym to prepare for the challenge since September 2019 .
Last year, the initiator of the challenge, Jaipal Channa, was diagnosed with severe depression which drove him to reach out to The Commando Temple.
He said: “I wanted to do some personal training, but instead the nature of my request led to this challenge being conceived.
“It involves teamwork, and at that moment I needed people around me. It requires dedication, perseverance and the getting out of bed on the days you really don’t want to.
“On the days I don’t have that, I’m lucky to have my teammates to drag me.”
Ex Royal Marines Commando, British Mountain Leader and founder of The Commando Temple gym, Rob Blair, said: “Think about the highest mountain you have climbed up in the UK, times that by five or six.
“This has a greater amount of elevation gained than anything available on our doorstep, inclusive of the Alps.
“You need to strengthen any niggles and build you armour plating. You need legs that can walk for days and a heart that longs for the finish line, but only after the challenge has been conquered.
“Mental health is the catalyst that starts all fires. Physical effort is one thing, but try being dark, drained and lifeless inside. Then you will realise that physical effort is a gift.”
Arts complex The Albany, founded as an activity centre to coax poor families away from dangerous jobs 126 years ago, became a theatre with 300 seats in the 1970s and hosted a string of top rock acts such as Dire Straits days before it was burned down in 1978, and after that Elvis Costello, Squeeze and Courtney Pine.
Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day.
For details click here.
