Woman climbs ‘Mt Everest’ to raise cash
A woman has used her steep driveway and street as her own personal Mt Everest and has climbed it 15 times each day of lockdown to raise money for Gumboot Friday.
Aucklander Debbie Miller has struggled with depression in the past and running to clear her head was a big part of her recovery.
Now she is running for others, with all money from her climb being donated to Gumboot Friday, a charity providing free care and counselling to young people aged 5 to 25.
“Lockdown has been really hard for people so this service is even more important for young people stuck at home during this time,” Miller said.
“Gumboot Friday gives these young people the ability to talk to someone, which is a great habit to get into as they get older.”
Miller set up a Givealittle page to raise money and document her effort and as of yesterday had raised $1700. She is today’s Lockdown Hero. “I have been overwhelmed by the support so far, people are so encouraging and generous.
“I think people understand the struggle with depression is real and affects so many.”
Miller said she was inspired to climb her own “Mt Everest” this lockdown after climbing the equivalent of Aoraki / Mt Cook during New Zealand’s first big level 4 lockdown.
“I wanted a challenge during the first lockdown so started running up and down my drive. My dad figured out if I did it so many times it would be equivalent to Mt Cook.
“This time I had family and friends asking if I was going to do Everest this time and I thought I could do it and raise money and awareness for something I care about.”
To achieve her goal of reaching the suburban equivalent of the 8849m mountain she’s had to run up and down her steep driveway and street 15 times a day with a final target of 221 laps. That’s 8.1km each day — with a couple of rest days — over 15 days.
She will celebrate reaching the “summit” on Thursday.
“I get to lap 10 or 11 and my legs are jelly but I think I can do it and I think of how hard it is when you are battling depression and mental health issues.
“The struggle with depression, anxiety, and mental health is a daily thing, getting through each day is the goal and I feel the same about this climb.”
As well as her own mental health struggles Miller has had close friends lose loved ones to suicide.
“It’s heartbreaking to see them walk through this pain every day and I would do anything to help prevent this.
“For the people I don’t know who are struggling I think ‘holy heck, you are in my heart’.
“I want people to have hope and know they are not alone.”
Miller was 25 when she started her own 10-year on-and-off battle with depression. “I love to laugh and I got to a point that I realised I hadn’t laughed in a long time, I had lost the feeling of joy.”
“It was a 10-year journey but I learned a lot about myself and I’m such a stronger person — I see things differently now.”
Miller started making changes to her life, including her work, diet, and exercise.
At 32 she retrained to be a nutritionist.
“Studying really helped and diet and exercise made a big difference as well. So did my faith.”
“Now in this small way, I want to help others know there is hope, that people are thinking of them.”