Supporter Experiences

At the end of April 2008, Ray (centre in photo) set sail on one of the biggest challenges of his life, to sail around the UK in his yacht, Christine-Marie. 

Now nearing the end of his journey, Ray hopes to arrive back to his home town of Lymington by 18th September.  His passage has taken him anti-clockwise around the UK, sailing an estimated total of 3,000 miles and visiting over 100 harbours and ports around the UK and Irish coastline.   

Ray's inspiration for this amazing challenge was his daughter Anne.  Anne was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and his family were told she was unlikely to recover fully.  Tragically, she died at the age of 18 following 3 years of mental illness.  During Anne's illness, Ray was introduced to Rethink and our carer support groups:

"Talking to other parents and carers at those meetings helped me to come to terms with Anne's illness and to understand it better.  The invaluable information provided by Rethink about schizophrenia helped me and others in our family through a very difficult period...I wanted to do something positive in memory of my daughter and to give something back to Rethink". 

Ray has raised a fantastic £1,217 for Rethink and hopes to generate more donations for Rethink on his return home.  He has also raised money for Marie Curie and RNLI.

Read more about Ray's journey and follow his blog 

If you would like to sponsor Ray, please click here to visit his Justgiving page: Support Ray

Rethink had 4 runners in our first year participating in the Bupa London 10,000 on 25th May.

One of our runners, WIllow Hare (pictured far right) tells us her experience of the race:

"The Bupa London 10k was a great race to take part in, not just for me as a beginner, but for more experienced runners too.  There was a really good crowd all the way round and everyone was running for a good cause.  It was also lovely to meet the other Rethink runners who were really friendly.  I'd definitely recommend this race to all types of runners!"

Willow completed the course in a fabulous time of 1 hour 6 minutes and raised a fantastic £430 for Rethink.

Thank you to all our runners who took part and raised over £1,400 for Rethink.

We have 6 places available for next years race so let us know if you'd like to run for Rethink! 

This year, Rethink had 7 runners in Flora's last ever year sponsoring the London Marathon.  To date they have raised over £8,000 for Rethink!

Rachel Hatcher completed the London Marathon, her first ever marathon, in a fabulous 4 hours 36 minutes.

"Running the London Marathon was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and one that I didn't think I'd enjoy half as much as I did.  That's not to say it wasn't tough going!  It was really hot on the day and seeing as most of my training had taken place throughout the winter running along the windy seafront in Portsmouth, running in blazing sunshine was quite difficult for me.  However, it did mean that there was support from start to finish which was absolutely fantastic.

I was doing ok until about 19 miles where I really started to feel the pain but I kept going and by mile 23 I could see the end in sight and the crowds really kept me going.  Seeing the '385 yards to go' sign even spurred me on for a sprint finish!!!

I'd recommend the London Marathon to anyone who's thinking of giving it a go - I've already signed up for next year!"

If you caught some of the action on TV and have been inspired to run and raise money for charity, Rethink still has places availabe for the Bupa Great North Run  and the Bupa Great South Run. 

Marcia Smith has spent November 2008 cycling around Vietnam to raise funds for Rethink!

"The trip was amazing.  The scenery was just awesome, and the people of Vietnam are lovely. There are lovely differences in the various

regions, wwhich add to the charm of country, and it gets more and more rural as the days go by.

 We had a brilliant bunch of riders, and I suspect that some lifelong friendships were made along the way.  The crew were brilliant, both from the organisers, and the local Vietnamese crew.  Everything was well organised and the only thing we had to think about was getting from A to B.

"I don't think I'll ever forget the immense sense of achievement at cycling the last (and most challenging) hill of the trip - I didn't want it to end there".

I would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys riding a bike, the benefits are numerous.  Your fitness will improve tenfold, you will visit the most marvelous and beautiful country, you challenge yourself, meet great people and get an amazing sense of achievement. And most importantly you will be giving something back to others that desperately need your help."

The Rethink Runners did fantastically in the Great South Run on Sunday 26th October 2008.

In her first run for Rethink, Vikkie Judd raised over £730  for Rethink and completed the 10 mile course in 1 hour and 39 minutes.  Vikkie enjoyed her experience so much she has decided to run the London Marathon for Team Rethink this year on 26th April 2009.

Rethink currently has a number of places available in prestigious running events so if you would like to get more involved and join the Rethink Running Team, contact the Rethink Events Team on 0207 840 3116 or at events@rethink.org

Rethink supporter Olly Figgis spent September 2008 walking 210 miles along the South West Coast Path from Start Point to Land's End to raise vital funds for Rethink.  Olly was joined on his route by his black and white border collie, "Mawenzi", whose name means "companion" in Swahili.

Before setting off, Olly said "I chose to support Rethink by walking part of the South West Coast Path because suffering from mental illness is awful, yet the professionals who helped me to recover my health were wonderfully sympathetic, supportive and knowledgeable people who inspired me to raise money for Rethink.  I wanted to undertake a considerable physical challenge which would also stimulate my mind.  The rugged terrain, drama, history and sheer beauty of the South West Coast Path fulfill these criteria perfectly. 

"I managed to raise a neat £555.77!  The jump was a very unique and exhilarating experience!"

Jump for Rethink

If you've already signed up for a challenge or you're taking part in your own fundraising event, contact the events team to see how we can support you in your fundraising efforts. 

We can send you a copy of our fundraising pack which includes everything you need to get started from planning ideas, budget tips, to sponsorship forms and publicity material. 

Rethink would love to hear from you if you've recently taken part in one of our events.  If you would like to share your experience with us and tell us what you loved most about it and why you chose to fundraise for Rethink, please contact us at events@rethink.org

Thank you to all our supporters who are willing to share their stories and raise money for Rethink