Before sunrise on October 10th a group of Alex’s close friends (Will Hicks, Will Drew, James Hulme, Patrick Timmis and Henry Maclellan) will pull on their running shoes and run from Sonning (where Alex was last seen) along the river on a 50 mile route back to one of his favourite Chelsea pubs.
After announcing this incredible feat, many of Alex’s friends and family came forward wanting to take part in some capacity. So now as well as a 50 mile run, a group organised by one of Alex’s cousins, James Shrager, will cycle a 78 mile route, teaming up with the runners for the final stretch from Kew to Chelsea. Finally a 3rd group will be joining up at Kew to run the final 10km with the 50 mile runners.
Alex disappeared on 11th January in Sonning and was sadly found on 3rd April by Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (BLSAR). Through the long and painful months after Alex’s disappearance, BLSAR worked tirelessly in their quest to find Alex, searching the river despite incredibly difficult conditions with almost continual flooding. This was a major operation over hundreds of man-hours with helicopters, drones, sonar, dogs and divers scouring the river in Sonning where Alex was last seen alive. Made up of an army of volunteers, we want to recognise their fantastic work and give something back to allow them to continue to help find other missing people.
Besides fundraising for BLSAR, we also want to raise awareness of suicide in young men. Sadly, 18 people a day take their own lives in the UK, and suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45. This needs to change. We want to help promote awareness of mental health issues and encourage others who might be facing similar battles to speak up and get the help they need before it’s too late.
Please support us in any way you can. We’re doing this in Alex’s memory and we wanted a way to celebrate his life and bring his family and friends together in a way that unfortunately wasn’t possible when he was found.
