I’ve lost two of my closest friends to suicide, and I’m only 22.

The worst thing is that they’re not the only people to feel like the one option they have left is suicide, and I’m not the only person to have my world shattered by this kind of loss. Suicide accounts for a staggering 800,000 deaths each year worldwide (WHO, 2012).

So, in memory of Sophie (Seb) and Jonathan, I’m going to walk 100 kilometres. In one go. On 10th September, I’ll leave Putney Bridge and keep going along the Thames Tow Path until I hit Henley some time in the morning of the 11th. It’ll take me about 24 hours and I’ll only take three short breaks to fill up on some carbs.

All the donations I receive for doing this will go directly to the Central London Samaritans [CLS], a branch of the wider Samaritans charity who have been providing confidential, non-judgement emotional support to people across the UK and Ireland for over 60 years. Nearly 500 volunteers at CLS provide roughly 80,000 hours of support every year, entirely for free. They answer phone calls/emails/texts 24 hours a day, every day in order to help people that might be struggling with issues such as loneliness, loss, mental health or suicidal feelings.

What they do is amazing, and brings us all one step closer to a society without suicide. Please do consider giving a couple of quid to support the cause.


F.A.Q.s

Why aren’t you running it?
Walking 62 miles is tough enough for a weedy asthmatic, thanks. To put it in context, the average active-ish person walks about 5 miles per day.


Can I come and watch you suffer?
YES PLEASE. It would be very nice to see some friendly faces along my route as the fun of walking will probably have worn off by hour 2. Just come down to the Thames tow path and wait for my sweaty face to appear. Bring food.


How is "Central London Samaritans” different to “The Samaritans"?
CLS is the Soho branch of the main Samaritans organisation. I’m fundraising for them in particular because I live in London and they do some fantastic outreach projects with the LGBT community, local prisons, local homeless communities and Transport for London.

In terms of answering phones/texts/emails, they do exactly the same thing as every other Samaritans branch, so your donation will still be helping people all across the UK and Ireland, as well as in London.


Will you be playing Pokemon Go whilst you walk?
Oh yes. Expect me to be on level 1000 by the time I’ve finished.

Can I trust this website?
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.