An ultra endurance athlete who has battled with mental health challenges is aiming to hit a new world record by running the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge this weekend.
In total, Colney Heath's Isaac Kenyon will run 136 miles and reach the height of Mount Everest in elevation over course of the four day challenge, which takes place from today through to Monday.
It will see him run between and up the country's three highest peaks - Snowdon (1,085m), Cadir Idris (893m) and Pen-Y-Fan (886m) - running 10 hours a day to complete the challenge.
Isaac, 28, of Roestock Lane, said: “This run I hope will inspire other men to reconnect and access their own nature spots to help support their physical and mental health, running for me gives headspace to relax, be mindful and reduce anxiety and stress.
"Far too many men like myself didn’t or don’t get the support they need as they remain silent and end up feeling isolated and sometimes never make it out of dark places. It needs to be made known that no one is alone in their struggles, and that there are outlets and help, some being natural ones like running in the outdoors and others being charities available for them.”
The money raised will go to Mind in Mid Herts which is a charity close to Isaac’s heart that has helped him over the years.
He said: “I love the mountains and I love to run, it is where I feel most at home, I often come into wild spaces to find the ecological balance between my mind, body and nature, it’s my place of “Ecotherapy”.
"My love of running really grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. It grew for many others too and has highlighted the importance of being outdoors for people’s mental and physical health. One in four people will experience a mental health issue each year and that stat is rising, time in outdoors must be an answer to this problem.
Isaac’s journey will be filmed by Jacob Chambers and released later this year.
Isaac says suicide is the bigger killer of men: "We all carry weight around with us and never tell anyone about it, the aim of this film is to encourage getting into nature to find balance and speaking out about mental health issues and ending the stigma."
For more information and how you can get involved in this Isaac’s fundraiser visit his GoFundMe page.
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