Two intrepid JCB employees are limbering up for a non-stop long distance charity walk along the 92 mile Staffordshire Way.
Jim Smith, of Uttoxeter, and Ben Murphy, of Tean – who both work on JCB’s backhoe loader production line at the company’s World Headquarters in Rocester – are hoping to complete the marathon trek in just 36 hours. In the process they will be raising money for the mental health charity MIND. The fundraising is in memory of Jim's dad, Bob Smith, who tragically took his own life in 2012.
Bob was a highly-respected and popular figure at JCB where he worked for the Backhoe Loader business unit in the manufacturing department for over 30 years.
Jim said: “It’s a fitting walk because my dad often discussed doing it with me when he retired. We have decided to raise the money for MIND because this is often a first port of call for people suffering with mental health issues. This includes suicide which is now very close to my heart since my dad took his own life.
“To make this walk a more personal challenge I joked to friends that I would undertake this trek with a mullet hairstyle as a tribute to my dad, who, according to some of the lads on the darts team we played for, was trying to bring this hairstyle back into fashion! Therefore, for the last 2 years I have been growing my hair to make this possible.”
The Staffordshire Way spans the length of the county, wending its way from Mow Cop on the Cheshire border and finishing at Kinver Edge on the border with Worcestershire. Along the way it takes in numerous public rights of way, canal towpaths and stunning scenery.
Jim, 32, and Ben, 31, will start the trek at Mow Cop at midday on May 28 and if all goes to plan should be arriving at Kinver Edge in the early hours on May 30. Neither are strangers to long distance walking having completed the 192-mile Coast to Coast route across Cumbria and North Yorkshire three years ago for Ben’s charity of choice, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham. However, this is the first time they have tried to complete a long distance path in one go.
Jim added: “Doing the walk non-stop is going to be challenging and tough. It means part of the trek will be in the dark, but we hope it will capture people’s imagination and help us raise a lot of money for a good cause. We have been doing training walks on parts of the Staffordshire Way that we are not familiar with, so we will be as prepared as possible. But until you actually get into a walk like this you never know quite what is around the corner.”
To make a donation visit their just giving website at www.justgiving.com/marchofthemullet