Salisbury firefighter running over 800 miles for mental health charity
He's already managed to raise £500
A firefighter based in Salisbury is currently doing a mammoth running challenge all to raise money for mental health charity Mind.
23 year old Jack Cobern, from Downton, is attempting to run 874 miles in three months, which is roughly 10 miles a day for 88 days.
It's the distance of John O'Groats to Lands End, but Jack is running the length of the United Kingdom from his home.
He's already done around 650 miles, after starting in January.
You can follow his progress via a Facebook page he set up called 'Going The Distance Jackâs 874 Mile Charity Run'.
WHY MIND?
Mind is a charity close to Jack's heart, a few years ago he struggled with his own mental health issues.
He found that speaking to people and doing something active helped him overcome his problems and get him into a much happier place in his life.
He says that simple things like asking how someone is or reaching to others for help is vital for recovery.
Through Jack's line of work, him and his colleagues also experience some shocking incidents, which can be quite tough to handle.
So far he has raised £500 for the charity, which was his original target.
Jack told Greatest Hits Radio:
"People with mental issues go through a hell of a lot physically, emotionally, mentally and I struggled a couple of years ago back when it wasn't really recognised and there wasn't many ways to speak about it and you sort of felt like you couldn't speak about it so the challenge was really put me back into that time to make me feel how they feel and to make people aware of it.
It's 874 miles in three months with just a couple of days off for injury or rest and recovery because all those miles does really take a toll on your body.
Through work we experience some rather nasty stuff sometimes and it takes it's toll on us, we're not superhuman, we all have emotions and some things affect us more than others but Mind is one of those organisations that we can we reach out to for help. What may be a little problem for someone can be big to someone else and I don't want people to feel like just because they think their problems are small doesn't mean their not big for them and anything people experience or see is worth talking about."
After already hitting his fundraising target, Jack wants to raise as much as possible for the charity.
People can donate to his challenge by visiting his Just Giving page.
Jack also has a message for anyone struggling with mental health issues:
"If people are going through these kinds of issues I just want them to know that although they can't see an end in sight right now they can't see a light at the end of the tunnel you can get out of it, there is an end in sight. I thought that when I was going through it but where I am now I am so content with my life, my friends, my family, where I've ended up but I know a lot of people in that situation don't think there is a way out so all I would say is please please speak to someone whether it be a councillor, friend, family member people are willing to listen and people are starting to realise the importance of it and if you are a friend please just ask someone how they are doing, you don't know what they might be going through."