Last Wednesday morning, 1 April, when most people were looking forward to the Easter holiday break, Irish entrepreneur Jim Breen, the man who started the Cycle Against Suicide initiative two and a half years ago, was out at Lilliput, beside Lough Ennell, running the first 5k of the 50k he ran that day, en route to Tullamore, and after having already run 100k over the previous two days.
As you read this, Jim Breen is still running his daily 50k run for Cycle Against Suicide, and incredibly, his seriously difficult daily 50k endurance tests will continue over a total distance of 1,400k until Saturday, 26 April.
Why would anyone want to punish himself with a schedule of 28 daily runs of 50k, for any cause? And that’s only a “warm-up” for a return trip on a bike over the same 1,400k route, back to Dublin. Basically, because Jim and those helping him want everyone in this country to become aware of the considerable help and supports that are available to assist anyone battling depression, self harm, suicide risk, and those who are bereaved by suicide. In particular, he wants every person to know that “It’s ok not to feel OK, and it’s absolutely OK to ask for help.”
“That’s the key motto we’ve been pushing and making known, and we feel that together, we can break the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland,” he explained.
“What made me become so committed was realising that we are losing two people every day in Ireland, and knowing just how many people needed to be made more aware of what’s out there,” he said, when Topic met him at Lilliput, after he had just run from Ballinea before 9am, and was about to embark on another 50k on Wednesday.
Kerryman Jim Breen, like a lot of other Kerry people, seems to have that quality which sees them not only talking the talk but also walking the walk, and it was after he appeared on the RTÉ programme, the Secret Millionaire in 2012, that he first began talking to young people about battling against depression. It was from there that his Cycle Against Suicide initiative took shape.
“In the first year, we were hoping to get around 2,000 people to cycle, but we got 2,500 and in 2014, we got 5,000, so we’re hoping to improve on that this year,” he said.
Cycle Against Suicide has become a countrywide campaign, and the 2015 event also over 1,400km, will begin on Monday, 27 April in Belfast, with upwards of 5,000 cyclists participating, and after going up and down Ireland it will stop off on Saturday, 9 May in Mullingar, from where the cyclists will set off for Dublin, where the Cycle Against Cycle finishes on Sunday, 10 May.
CAN YOU HELP OUT?
The organisers are appealing to anyone in Mullingar who may be able to help out in providing voluntary accommodation for a few of the participating cyclists, on 9 May. Maybe you could provide them with a warm meal, a chance to freshen up, and a bed for the night. If you can offer accommodation, contact their coordinator at homestays@cycleagainstsuicide.com.
Jim is keen to involve teenagers and schools in a national conversation about suicide and depression, and how to combat the feelings of isolation people experience, and receiving reassurance that things will be okay. During the cycle, they stop off daily at schools and local centres, and host a speaker event. Even during his gruelling 50k daily runs, Jim is trying to do the same, and was talking in Portlaoise Prison last Thursday.
“We want to help as many people as possible.”
