From Anfield to Old Trafford: 60km walk to raise awareness on male suicide
It's being named the 'Tash of Two Cities' Challenge
A group of friends and football rivals will walk 60km from Anfield to Old Trafford today to highlight the 60 men who die by suicide every hour across the world.
The friends aim to walk from Liverpool Football Club to Manchester United Football Club in one weekend as part of Movember – the annual campaign that raises awareness of men’s health issues.
Led by George Frewer and Mark Bartlem, Manchester United and Liverpool fans respectively, the pals will cover 60km between their home grounds on 20th and 21st November to raise money and awareness for Movember and the campaign’s work towards mental health and suicide prevention.
They have currently raised £3000 of their targeted £5000 for men's health charity Movember.
'Tash of Two Cities' Challenge
The ‘Tash of Two Cities’ Challenge – so called to reference the tradition of growing a moustache during ‘Movember’ – will see the pals put their football rivalries aside to trek along the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal.
Their walk will promote the importance of conversations around mental and physical health and recognising the alarming statistic that one man dies by suicide every minute across the globe.
"Reach out and talk to one another, reach out to someone you haven't spoken to in a while and say 'how are you?", says George Frewer, Manchester United fan and organiser of the Tash of Two Cities walk.
"A lot of men won't proactively talk about what they're feeling, but secondly, men don't necessarily get asked how they're feeling because they're the strong one. That's not the case. We need to change that.
George added: “The statistics really speak for themselves. We lose a man every minute to suicide. Three out of four suicides in the UK are men and Covid has made it even more difficult for men who are isolated and lonely. Yet there is still a real stigma around men and conversations around mental health.
"Last year my cousin died by suicide. He was a 50 year-old man who should have been able to talk to people, and should have been able to get help. For me, it's important to encourage men to talk as much as possible so we can stop that from happening again."
"'You'll never walk alone' sums up what we're trying to do on this walk"
Mark Bartlem, Liverpool fan and Tash of Two Cities walker, says: “The words ‘You’ll never walk alone’ obviously mean a great deal to me in football terms but they sum up what we’re trying to do on this walk. We’re showing that we’re all just normal blokes, we like our football, we have our struggles, and it’s okay to talk each other about what’s going on and how we’re feeling.”
"We laugh and joke about being supporters of rival teams, there's a few of us doing the entire walk. There's various different football fans as well, but certainly the United and Liverpool rivalry is massive.
"Being able to put that aside and have a chat while we walk and ask people how they are is really important to us".
The Liverpool supporter added: "I think I have personally been in that position when it's that stiff upper lip and you've got to be the one that keeps it together.
"For me, it's raising that awareness for people, myself included, that it's okay to talk to people. Ask someone if they're okay. Ask somebody if they're actually okay. Opening up that conversation, hopefully we can do that."
Nearly half of British men not asked how they were during pandemic
Movember encourages men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives.
Figures released earlier this year by Movember, as part of a global study carried out by the Social Research Centre found that the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted men’s mental health.
Nearly half of British men (46%) said no one asked how they were coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.
22% of men said their mental health had worsened in the first six weeks of the pandemic, with 29% noting increased feelings of loneliness.
Older men are the group most likely to have experienced poorer social connection, with 62per cent of men aged 45+ years reporting they feel less connected to their friends since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Donate to the fundraiser
By walking between the football rivals’ home grounds, the friends are hoping to show other men that sport and exercise can not only be good for physical health and social connection but can also be an ideal opportunity to ask friends about how they’re feeling.
George says: “The rivalry is always intense between Liverpool and Manchester and right now we’re not short of conversation about both clubs and the most recent game. By bringing the conversations around football and men’s mental health together, we’re hoping to normalise it so that men can feel comfortable asking for help or voicing their struggles.”
The Tash of Two Cities Challenge will start at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool Football Club on Saturday, 20th November at 9am and will aim to finish at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester United Football Club on Sunday, 21st November between 2pm – 3pm.
You can donate to the fundraiser here.