Nick Carpenter ran 1.8km and completed 18 burpees – a type of squat thrust where the individual stands up in between repetitions – every hour for a full day in honour of his friend James Bailey, and raised more than £6,000 in the process.
Some of the money will be used to build a memorial bench for Mr Bailey, and the rest will be given to local mental-health support group LINC Community.
Mr Carpenter, who frequently uses his platform as a personal trainer to promote issues surrounding mental health, said he was overwhelmed by the physical and financial support from people who helped him push through the ‘gruelling’ challenge.
‘I wanted to do something in memory of [James] Bailey and put myself through a mentally tough challenge to raise awareness of a topic which is close to my heart,’ he said.
‘We originally set the target of £2,500 and I never thought it would get this big. I agreed to shave my head if we reached the £4,000 mark, which I think helped, as a lot of people wanted to see me with no hair.’
Mr Carpenter was joined by friend and fellow Islander Kurt Dingle, who completed the challenge in Australia, where he currently lives.
The pair chose to run 1.8km and complete 18 burpees every hour after reading online that an average of 18 people per day take their own life in the UK.
Mr Carpenter added: ‘The idea behind the challenge really hit home and it just so happened that 1.8km for 24 hours equated to just over a full marathon, which made it really tough.
‘The difficult part was staying awake through the early and late hours, and having to stretch between every hour so that I wouldn’t seize up.
‘Luckily I had people join me for each run and support me through the difficult moments – socially distanced, of course.’
Mr Carpenter has not ruled out completing more challenges and hopes to use his latest effort as a message of inspiration for others.
He added: ‘Advocating for mental health gives me a great sense of fulfilment and I really hope the idea and money raised shows people that you can overcome mental barriers and challenge yourself to do great and positive things.’
