Mark’s Luton Town Premier Pedal Challenge…
Mark has raised £27,000 over the past 2 years through his cycling challenges. We’re delighted that he has chosen to support Mind BLMK this year.
During Luton Town’s last season, Mark cycled to 116 football clubs in 34 days – a total of 2,500 miles. He told himself that this would be his last challenge, but after Luton Town’s huge success in reaching the Premiership League, Mark knew that this season’s challenge would allow him to visit some of the UK’s most prestigious football grounds.
This season, Mark has kindly chosen to support Mind BLMK and two other local charities Keech Hospice Care and Noah Enterprise, plus national charity Prostate Cancer UK which Mark has previously supported. The challenge aims to not only raise money but to spread awareness of what support is available locally, particularly in Luton.
Why Mind BLMK?
Mark shared with us that he has had his mental health struggles, and when he first had these feelings it wasn’t widely recognised and the standard reaction was ‘stop being miserable’. He said that being able to speak to someone who doesn’t know him and wouldn’t judge him was a big comfort and it helped me focus on positive aspects of my life while recognising difficult periods in my past.
“All I wanted was to feel I wasn’t alone and, that help was available and that I deserved to have a happy life.”
Through this challenge, Mark hopes to spread awareness of the service Mind BLMK offer in Luton. We aim to make sure that no one has to face a mental health struggle alone, which Mark discovered aligned with his values too.
Why cycling?
Mark’s counsellor set him a number of tasks including keeping a gratuity diary to help him focus on his daily achievements. This enabled him to focus on the positive aspects of my life.
Being able to exercise through cycling helped with Mark’s mental health, so for the 2021/22 season he set myself the challenge to cycle to all the away games raising awareness and funds for mental health and other charities. He decided to support charities concerned with his two passions – football (Luton Town) and cycling.
Posted on: 26th July 2023
