Magnificent 7 on mission for PTSD
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AWIDNES man completed a testing 22-mile trek with sets of 22 press-ups every five miles to boost awareness and funding for dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Billy Isherwood accompanied Captain Tom Roach, of 101 Engineer Regiment EOD bomb disposal, and ex-soldiers Ste ‘Stocky’ Stockford, Graham ‘Pono’ Ponton, Ste Doyle, Carl Roach and Jonathan Mahoney plus Lisa Mahoney, to conquer the hike.
The ‘magnificent seven’ hiked the picturesque Gower peninsular coast near Swansea, starting at 9am and finishing at 5pm.
Donations have been pouring in with all proceeds to go to mental health charity Mind, and so far their Just Giving page has collected £641 and £113 in gift aid towards their £5,000 target at the time of writing.
The walk was inspired by the 22 push-up challenge, which has been running for a year and encourages participants to complete 22 press-ups every day for 22 days.
Members of the group said the cause is especially important after the terror attack in Manchester.
Cpt Roach, who has been serving in the Army since 1977, has launched the PTSD4PTSD (Physical Training Supports Disorders For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) page on Facebook to raise awareness about how fitness can be used to help to deal with PTSD or depression.
The group has now grown to 524 members.
Cpt Roach said he has seen troops living with PTSD but not admitting it but he believes fitness can help.
He said: “I’ve seen lots of varied incidents over the years, many soldiers suffering with PTSD and failing to recognise the condition and trying to cope on their own.
“This way can only lead to serious depression with the very worst of endings – suicide.
“So just over a year ago now after the sensational ‘22 press ups for 22 days’ campaign to bring PTSD to the ● fore, once it had died away we wanted to keep the momentum going.
“We came up with a page called PTSD4PTSD.
“I truly believe fitness is a key to helping anyone with PTSD or depression.
“I’ve been crazy about fitness since I was a boy, it’s my ‘go to’ place when the going gets tough.
“It helps me forget and focus, and I know it’s the same for many others.
“The idea of our page was to support anyone, both military and civilian, who suffers, with nothing but positive messages, no negatives allowed on the page whatsoever.
“So from our launch we have grown to 360 like-minded souls who are all there to support one another.
“We do weekly challenges to keep it interesting.
“We’ve had lads and lasses videoing themselves talking about their condition and how they’re coping. “It’s been such a humbling experience. “We have a fully trained physiologist, yoga experts on board and a wealth of knowledge on fitness from running to tiddlywinks.
“Our chosen charity is Mind, an outstanding mental health charity that does incredible work.”
Discussing the Gower walk, he said: “We had seven ex-soldiers, a mix of Irish and Welsh Guards and an Royal Engineer officer, some having their own demons to conquer.
“But I can tell you how proud I was of these humongous effort these lads – brothers-inarms – put into finishing this task.
“Some had driven from Liverpool through the night after finishing work to attend.
“Our target is to raise £5,000 over a period of time and completing different challenges along the way.
“This was our first collective challenge and what a success it was!
“Many blisters, both on feet and tongues as when you get a group of soldiers together they know how to talk.”
To donate visit www.justgiving.com and search for PTSD4PTSD.