A woman will be doing a gruelling day-long fitness challenge to raise awareness for men’s mental health after losing her father to suicide 25 years ago.
On the morning of Friday, July 26, Tess Borcsok, who lives in Bury, will be attempting to complete the "Mentalk.312 Challenge" in under 24 hours.
The challenge consists of lifting 312kg through a squat, bench and deadlift, swimming 3.12 km and cycling 312 km around Greater Manchester.
The challenge is based around the number 312. This number is the distance in kilometres between her hometown of Derecske in Hungary and Székesfehérvár, a place in the country that her father always wanted to visit.
Tess, 44, wants to raise awareness about mental health, and the fact that suicide can be preventable.
She said: “What I am putting myself through mentally is nowhere near close to the feeling of those people who suffer for months and years with their mental health."
Tess, 44, was very close to her father Jozsef.
He was a farmer, but was told he had to stop working on medical grounds a few years before he died.
Tess now recognises the intense loneliness and isolation her father dealt with, being no longer allowed to work. At the time, she did not see the signs.
She was just 19 when she lost him aged just 48, on June 1, 1999.
Just over 25 years on, Tess wanted to do something big to raise awareness around suicide prevention, particularly in men.
“Men don't talk, or find it more difficult to talk to express how they are feeling and are more likely to end their own lives,” she said.
The date of the challenge sits just three days before her father’s birthday, July 29.
“I’m excited, at the moment I’m quite apprehensive and very alert about potential challenges," she said.
"I’m nervous, more nervous than I’ve ever been before."
Although Tess is already very active, and is a nutritionist, sports therapist and coach, she has had to undertake intense training for the challenge, especially in swimming.
“My first lesson in front crawl was in February this year,” she said.
“It was a lot of dry swimming at home on the sofa and on the pouffe!”
To train for the challenge, Tess does two weight sessions, two swimming sessions and three bike sessions a week.
She is raising money for The Baton of Hope UK, a charity raising awareness of suicide prevention, improving access to information and support services.
You can visit Tess’ fundraiser here.
She said: “Suicide is always unexpected. But sometimes, you can see the signs and you don’t do much about it.
“If you miss that talking window, it's gone.
“I want to raise awareness that it is possible to turn things around, it is possible to prevent something bad happening.”
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