Moray man (25) running 100K in a month to raise funds for mental health charity Calm
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A MORAY man is running 100 kilometres throughout February in a bid to raise awareness and much-needed cash for mental health charity Calm.
Ex Lossiemouth High School student Joshua Kennedy (25), who works at Holland and Barrett in Elgin, took the challenge on after reading "shocking statistics" on male mental health.
In addition to that, Josh admitted he "didn't have a good time last year" and wanted to build awareness of the struggles people – especially men – are facing.
He said: "It's something I had been interested in. In general, there is a growing concern towards male mental health and I decided to do this after reading a few articles and reading some shocking statistics.
"Last year I didn't have a good time myself and I thought this would be a great way to build awareness and open up and talk about it.
"Calm have stated that £8 pays for a life-saving call, for some to speak about how they are feeling. So every little helps."
While his brothers are athletes, Josh, by his own admission, isn't much of a runner – making running 100k in 28 days quite an effort.
But, by February 10, he had already run more than half of the required distance.
"Everyone wants to get a bit fitter in lockdown," Josh added. "I've dabbled in running before and wanted to push myself to make it a real challenge.
"February is a shorter month but I factored in eight rest days and 20 five kilometre runs. Sometimes I mix it up – the furthest I've done is nine kilometres.
"I'm definitely feeling it in my legs and back, should have done more training – I only did one 5k run before February!"
Josh added that he has been "massively surprised" by the support he has received, smashing his initial target of raising £300 within 24 hours.
Now, he nearly at the £700 mark.
Donate to Josh's cause at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/keepingthecalm.
