Hello my name is Tim Grigg and I work for the University of Leicester.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this page.

Please see bottom of page for regular updates.

Why am I writing to you?

On the 5th December 2007 I received a phone call from my Step-mum explaining that my dad had gone missing. I could tell by her voice that It seemed pretty serious. I jumped into my car and drove up to try and find him. I live about 180miles away from him. I decided that I would try and look for him by going to places that mean something to our family, thinking he just needed a walk to clear his head and had got lost. On the 7th December 2007 Dad was found. He had decided to end his life and commit suicide in a forest near to home.

This came as a great shock to my family and I, as it was so sudden and without explanation. We didnt receive a note or any sort of message. Many questions have been playing through my head since then, the what if's...? Why...? If only...? I felt the need to try and understand what had driven Dad to do such a thing.

I have talked to other people who have been in this horrible situation and have come to understand just how common suicide and depression is. I also realise how closely they are linked to each other, and how misunderstood it is by many. Charities like the Charlie Waller memorial fund are there to encourage people to seek the right help before their problems come to a head. They also aim to raise awareness of the nature and dangers of depression. With your help I aim to raise money for CWMT, and try and help promote the importance of having a better awareness of the well-being of our families, friends and work colleagues.
I understood that my Dad was struggling and feeling low, but not to the extent that he obviously was. He was deeply depressed and I now realise how easy it is to develop depression and how valuable it is to have a place to seek help.

What do I aim to do for sponsorship?    

"THE LONG JOURNEY HOME"

On the 14th June 2008 I aim to Run 180 miles in 7 days, carrying 30lbs of weight.

I will  start the run from Enderby, Leicester and finish in Carnforth town on the Lancashire / Cumbrian border.  I spent a large part of my youth growing up just outside Carnforth.

I plan to cover an average of 26 miles a day, thats equivalent to 7 marathons in a week!!!

I will run on road and off-road. Travelling over the Pennines in the Peak District off-road for over 45% of the total journey.

I will camp and wherever practical use Hostels.

I aim to raise as much money as possible for CWMT.
I have already started training for this journey and (touch wood) it is going to plan.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could make a donation however big or small to help me to complete this challenge successfully.

If you would like any other information on me and the journey I'm about to take, please feel free to contact me by email:
tcgrigg@hotmail.co.uk
If you would like any more information on CWMT go to :-
http://www.cwmt.org

Many thanks again for taking time to read this page,
Tim Grigg - 26yrs.

NEWS UPDATE!

One of my oldest school friends Jon Limebury has been in touch with me after a few years of lost contact. After catching up with each other we have decided to join as a team to complete ‘The Long Journey Home’. We have completed other smaller outdoor challenges together as teenagers and I feel very happy to have a good friend to join me.
Please read his message below on his reasons for doing this expedition.

I have spent the past 3 years working for a charity that helps to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalized people. I have known and worked with people who simply could not carry on and ended their lives.

This has been largely due to the lack of support and awareness surrounding mental health problems and a society willing to brush its problems under the carpet. My despair at this daily tragedy came home when one of my old classmates ended her life in October 2006.

I have known the Griggs since I was a young boy of around seven or eight. Tim, Adam and Ben's dad always seemed such a strong character of a man. The kind of rock some people can only dream of having as a father figure. His death cuts deep with its suddenness and lack of explanation, as did the death of my former classmate. I wish there could be more we could do, and I believe there is.

There is not nearly enough mental health provision for helping people who suffer from depression. Only too often I see people given prescribed medication, which was intended to be administered alongside therapy and counselling, with no follow-up support or access to such help because of long waiting lists or lack of funding. It may be only when someone is feeling suicidal that intervention takes place - which is often too late.

Much of the time, the only recourse to help is through voluntary organisations set up by those people who are directly affected by depression and suicide, and these are the organisations which save lives everyday. For example - The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.
 
Please, please give all you can. The more you give, the more encouraged and driven we will be in completing this challenge and the easier it will be for us!

Tell your friends, your relatives, your colleagues - tell anyone you can and we will smash the target set and help stop this suffering in silence. - Jon Limebury. 27yrs