Man to run 5km every day of month for suicide charities

A MAN from Henley will complete two challenges this month to raise money for suicide prevention after losing a friend.

Phil Stubbington, 59, will take on a “5km a day” challenge to raise money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably, where he will run the distance every day.

He will also complete the Dawn Walk challenge for Samaritans between October 10 and 12, where he will walk 5km at sunset on each day.

Following the death of his friend Keith to suicide at the age of 59, Mr Stubbington said he wanted to support charities that could help people struggling with suicidal thoughts.

He said: “Losing my friend and former colleague came as a huge shock, so I thought that I would do something to support the charities to try to help people who have suicidal thoughts or friends and family members who are affected by it.

“It’s mental health awareness month in October. I’m actually training to do the Valencia Half Marathon at the end of October, so the 5km a day on the days that I’m training for that won’t be a problem. On the other days I will be walking 5km in a single walk.

“The walking will be more of a challenge because I’m typically running two or three times a week. Walking is half the speed of running so it will take me twice as long to do it.

“It’s an important cause so that’s the thing I’m keeping in mind.

“It’s just about getting other people locally that are interested in doing it or willing to contribute for fundraising for those two charities.”

Data published by the Samaritans, based on national statistics for 2023, found that males aged 45 to 49 had the highest rate of suicide at 25.3 per 100,000.

Males of all ages were more than three times as likely to die of suicide than females, with the male suicide rate being 17.1 per 100,000 compared to females which was 5.6 per 100,000.

Mr Stubbington said: “I think, particularly with men, it’s not something I’ve looked into until fairly recently. I think men tend to be much more likely to take their own lives than women, generally speaking.

“From what I’ve been reading over the last week or so a lot of it is not feeling comfortable having conversations around mental health, even with family members and friends.

“I had known Keith for 23 years and because we worked quite closely together, I certainly would have had no issue with him talking about anything that might have been troubling him while we were working together or subsequently when we were still in contact, so I think that’s an important aspect of it as well.

“I have been researching it myself it the last week or so since Keith took his life and I think it’s a massive issue and one that needs a lot more publicity and finding a way that men can open up about some of the issues they’re having about mental health.”

To donate, visit www.just
giving.com/team/keithd