Suicide awareness in Cumbria driven by key workers’ 2KM daily challenge

A team of 12 friends and colleagues including key workers and emergency response staff have come together to raise awareness about suicide in Cumbria by each running 2km every day for 100 days.  Many of them are not runners and almost everyone on the team has been affected by suicide personally or through their work.  They have already run more than 800 miles (Land’s End to John O’Groats is a mere 603 miles as the crow flies) and raised over £1,200 for local charity, Suicide Bereavement Support.

The idea was the brainchild of Jonathan of Cumbria Police, who has put the challenge into action and has been joined by colleagues in the police, NHS and teaching staff.  The team is made up of teachers, police officers, NHS staff and more, ranging from Cumbria to Durham and North Wales, all of whom have a connection and a love of Cumbria.

Early morning inspiration

The challenge began on 19 April and is due to end 100 days later on 27 July.  The 2km per day serves as a minimum distance and many of the team members are running more than this.  Some have never run before, including Jayne Blackwell (63), who works as a teaching assistant in North Wales.  She has completed her run by 6.50am before work each day and, despite not being too keen on the idea initially, has become the inspiration and motivation for the rest of the team.

“The biggest challenge is fitting the run in around shift patterns and family life,” says Anna Blackwell, childminder and ex-Police Officer from Stainton.  “We receive Jayne’s daily run report before 7am every single day, which leaves us with no excuses not to run ourselves!  Even my brother, Matthew Brown, who works for the NHS runs between his meetings.  The improvement to everyone’s physical and mental health since we started running is clearly evident and, actually, some of us are not looking forward to ending the challenge in July as it’s had such a positive impact.  Hopefully, the habit will stick.  There are definitely days when bad weather makes it less enticing to set out on a run, but we’re all able to have a good laugh at ourselves and each other’s running exploits.”

Motivated by personal tragedy

To put it in perspective, the heart-breaking statistic of losing someone each week on average to suicide in Cumbria is greater than those lost to road traffic accidents. Having operated under the wing of national charity Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide for nine years, Suicide Bereavement Support (SBS) was founded in 2019 and builds on that experience to focus on offering a truly local service to people living in Cumbria and surrounding areas including North Lancashire and South Scotland.

Most of the team have experienced the reality of suicide as emergency response workers, but Anna and Matthew have been touched by suicide on a personal level when they lost their beloved Grandpa Mac.  “As children, we knew that Grandpa Mac had taken his own life, but it’s not until you grow older that you really start to understand and feel the impact.  It would have been his birthday on 22 May and he’s still very much in our thoughts to this day.  It’s so important for loved ones left behind by suicide to feel supported and that’s why we wanted to help others through the critical work carried out by SBS.”

SBS usually offers four self-help support groups across Cumbria, where those left behind by suicide can meet with other people in a similar position, although meetings are currently being held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.  The groups provide an opportunity to listen, to share, to gain understanding and to connect with others. A helpline service and private forum is also available and is run by volunteers who have been personally affected by suicide.

Show your support for Team 2kmx100

Running 2km every single day for 100 days is no small challenge for this team of enthusiasts, so please do support their fundraising challenge by donating what you can via JustGiving at https://www.justgiving.com/team/100daysofrunning.

Support for people touched by suicide

If you are struggling with the death of someone who has taken their own life and need someone to listen to your experience and offer you support, please do get in touch. You can call the SBS helpline on 07572 975 721 (John) or 07896 703 757 (Karan). You can also email hello@sbs.org.uk , or you can visit www.sbs.org.uk or Facebook and Twitter at @CumbriaSBS.