Leyland man calls for community support at end of gruelling month-long challenge in memory of his dad

A man from Leyland is coming to the end of a gruelling month-long challenge in memory of his father.

Matt Dewhurst is on track to complete the challenge and raise money for Lancashire Mind.

He has run 10km every day this November in under 60 minutes, aiming to raise more than £4,000 for the charity.

Now as he comes to the end, Matt has stepped up the challenge by bidding to run a marathon on Saturday 30 November. He is inviting anyone from the community to join him for all or part of the final run.

Matt said: “When my dad passed away seven years ago I struggled to process it on my own and was behaving how I felt I ‘should do’. I also went through some big changes in my personal life at the same time – with the end of a relationship and career change. I had some counselling support to help me process the loss, grief and other feelings and emotions that were not helping my mental health and the time. Running and exercise in general was another form of therapy that I leaned on to help clear my mind and avoid using other less helpful coping methods that would only delay, rather than deal with what I was going through.

“This feels like a fitting way to give back to other people who are facing their own mental health struggles – to promote the benefits of exercise but also to encourage people to take the step to access professional help, such as the services that Mind Lancashire provides, when it is needed.”

The month-long running challenge has seen Matt, who is a co-founder of a Preston personal training gym, venture out in freezing conditions to raise money, as well as to increase awareness about the importance of exercise for mental wellbeing.

He added: “At Pro-Fit we are committed to helping our members live a healthy and happy life, but when you consider that suicide is the biggest killer of people under the age of 35 and the biggest killer of men under the age of 50, it is clear that paying even closer attention to our wellbeing is absolutely critical.

“Both from my own personal experiences and those of my clients, I have seen firsthand how exercise, coupled with wider support, can make a dramatic difference to people who are experiencing anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

“Running 10km every day, within a time limit has been a big physical undertaking. I am also a new dad and a business owner so there are significant pressures on my daily time and energy. Not to mention the November weather which has thrown up some challenging conditions – a 6am run during Storm Bert was definitely a low point!

“For me this has been about showing up every single day and getting out there to tick off the kilometres whatever the weather. I have had lots of people join me for runs during the month – the company has been invaluable, giving me a great boost and helped to keep me going through some difficult days.”

To donate you can visit Matt’s GoFundMe page here or for updates follow him on Instagram @mattdewhurst_coach.

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