Do you make sure you do 10,000 steps a day? How about 30,000?
That’s the challenge a father-and-son team have set themselves this month – to walk one million steps each, or roughly 25,000 to 30,000 steps a day in aid of two local charities.
Elliot Corbel, a sports reporter for All Island Media, and his dad, Carl, are now almost a week into the immense Million Steps Challenge, which was launched last year as a daring fundraiser for The Grace Crocker Foundation, which supports local families with sick children who have to travel for treatment.
The pair aim to raise £5,000 to be split between the charity as well as the Jersey branch of Samaritans, which offers a confidential twenty-four-hour helpline for those in mental health crisis.
Having already walked over half-a-million steps between them this week, Carl, who was recently appointed as head of fundraising at Samaritans Jersey, said the main reason he wanted to attempt the challenge was to raise awareness of talking about mental health, especially for men.
He said: “Samaritan’s main mandate is to try and help prevent suicide nationally. So, we’re we’re doing a big push this year to get out to men in particular. Obviously, our helpline is for men and women, but particularly for men, we want to try and get the message across that Samaritans are always there to listen.”
Carl, who is a keen walker, said it is “quite a physical challenge” to get thousands of steps in around full-time work.
“You’ve got to make it work. I’m going out at sort of 06:00 and then that takes the pressure off the rest of the day. But it’s not easy. It’s definitely not easy. You’re probably walking for about five hours a day.”
He added: “I’ve got a lot of respect for the people have already done it.”
Having been encouraged by his dad to join him in the challenge, Elliot said Carl’s work with Samaritans “inspired” him to give it a go.
“I first heard about this event through my dad. His work with Samaritans has really inspired me and he wanted to take on a challenge to help with their fundraising,” Elliot said.
He continued: “A million steps in a month is a real challenge, but something that Dad and I are both fully prepared to take on and give it our best shot. It’s going to be a tough slog, both mentally and physically, but we are determined to help bring more awareness to both of these incredible charities and achieve something epic along the way.”
If they complete the challenge, the Corbels will have walked about 800km each in March, which is the approximate return distance between Jersey and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Aidan McAvinue, challenge founder and former chair of The Grace Crocker Foundation, said the monthly challenges have so far raised over £20,000 for the charity.
He said: “The initiative is wonderful for a host of reasons, walking and talking, awareness, health and fitness and raising funds for great causes.”
Praising the Corbels for their efforts, Mr McAvinue explained that he wants someone or a team to tackle the fundraiser each month going forward.
He added: “We want this to continue for as long as possible. We have walkers for March, April and actively seeking new walkers for the summer months.”
Anyone interested in signing up can contact info@gracecrocker.org.je using the subject ‘Million Steps Challenge’.
To support Carl and Elliot towards reaching their £5,000 goal for The Grace Crocker Family Support Foundation and the Jersey Samaritans, visit their Sports Giving page here.
Approximately 200 families a year who make the journey from Jersey to Great Ormond Street Hospital for treatment. To support them, you can donate to The Grace Crocker Family Support Foundation on their website.
To find out more and support the voluntary work of the Samaritans of Jersey, click here.