A Lincoln man is set to climb England’s highest mountain at the end of the month, carrying a 30kg rowing machine on his shoulders.
Brad Thornton, a personal trainer who works at Anytime Fitness on Wragby Road, Lincoln, is climbing Scafell Pike in memory of his friend, James Walker, who took his own life recently.
The event will see him climb to the top of the 978 metre mountain, before rowing 10,000 metres on the machine and then climbing back down.
All donations to the campaign will go to Mind charity, who support people effected by mental health problems through helplines and webchats.
Having suffered with mental health problems in the past, Brad is keen to raise as much money as possible, setting his target at £50,000.
Brad said: “I want to get it out there that it’s okay to talk when things aren’t okay, just like I did! I am currently studying life coaching and hypnotherapy as I’d love to be able to make an impact on people’s lives like they have mine!”
The climb demonstrates the struggle many people face with their own mental mountain, and the ability to overcome problems by talking and asking for help.
“I am going to have to push through and use my head to be able to complete this very difficult task, just like people struggling with their mental health,” He said. “It will prove when you put your mind to it you can achieve anything, mental and physical!”
Mind Charity said: “Nobody should face a mental health problem alone, and it’s because of your kind donations and amazing fundraising efforts that Mind can be here.”
So far, Brad has raised over £5,000 on his just giving page from over 300 donators.
In addition to donations, the campaign is running a ticket raffle with prizes such as Lincoln city VIP tickets, free car MOTs and a Beauty Spa Lincoln Experience for 2 people, worth £222.
Donations in support of the climb can be given at Justgiving.com/climb4jim, and raffle tickets can be purchased through the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ayesha.thornton.1/posts/10157577377112674.
Other Lincolnshire campaigns –
Lincolnshire has seen a number of adventurous pursuits in aid of charities in recent years. This year alone has seen a skydive for Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire, a man cycle from Inverness to Lincolnshire for Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire air ambulance and a Lincolnshire Ladies Vintage Tractor Run in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Other notable campaigns that are currently running include donations for church restorations around Lincolnshire, which can be found here https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/neil-griffiths-3 and donations to support cancer wards in Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, which can be found here https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lhp-cycle-challenge.