On Sunday 13th August, our Carpenter Will Crouch will be taking on a challenge of epic proportions; The Henley Thames Marathon, a gruelling 13km river swim from Henley to Marlow. Swimming this distance is hard enough but to do so in open water will be incredibly tough, both mentally and physically, and for Will completing the swim alone is not enough – he aims to do so in under 5 hours!
Training is going well with many, many hours spent in the pool and some essential training sessions in the Thames itself to acclimatise to this environment too! Swimming this distance is certainly not Will’s comfort zone but he remains determined to fulfil the challenge he has set himself.
The motivation for Will is to raise essential funds for charity ‘Mates in Mind’ and to begin to break down the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, the mis-perception that talking things through and asking for help is a sign of weakness and ultimately to quash the ‘macho-culture’ so prominent in construction, that has meant so many men suffer the strains of life in silence. It is certainly time to change and Will hopes his efforts will go some way to do just that.
Every day two people working in Construction in the UK commit suicide. That's over 700 lives per year lost unnecessarily when so much more could be done to stop this happening. And for Will, its personal. Just a few weeks ago, whilst away at Glastonbury, he received the devasting news that one of his very best friends who he went to college with had taken his own life at the age of 23. The upset and distress this has caused naturally fuels Will to get the challenge done, and incentivises him to do what he can to stop this happening to others.
If you can recognise Will’s efforts with a donation to his fundraising it would be hugely appreciated and helps to ensure support is readily available to those who need it, and you can do so via the link to his online page:
Good luck Will, all your friends and colleagues at Jenner are wishing you the very best of luck and know that with your relentless determination you will totally SMASH IT!!
