A Newcastle man has completed a mammoth walk from Wembley to St James' Park to raise awareness for men's mental health- and gained the seal of approval of a Toon legend in the process.
Magpies fan Josh Banyard set off from the national stadium on the gruelling 273-mile five-day walking challenge on August 22 and made it all the way to St James' Park yesterday (August 27).
The challenge was centred around raising awareness of the importance of speaking about mental health as well as raising money for the Newcastle United Foundation's Be a Game Changer campaign, which he credits with saving his life.
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The walk from London to Newcastle came only months after he successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge - involving climbing the highest mountains of England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours - for the same cause alongside a friend. In all, Josh and a friend raised £555 for the Newcastle United Foundation for completing that challenge.
At the time of writing, this latest challenge has received just over £1700 from well-wishers and members of the public on Just Giving.
The money raised in this latest campaign will specifically be used to help their health and wellbeing team in the form of the Be a Game Changer campaign.
Josh received the best wishes of key figures from Newcastle United's past and present over the five day period.
Newcastle United CEO, Darren Eales, who joined the club this summer from Major League Soccer outfit Atlanta United, had words of encouragement for Josh during the challenge. In the video, he was full of praise for Josh's efforts and sent his best wishes for the remainder of the challenge.
He said: "I just want to say a huge thank you. I hear you are on a crazy walk from London, all the way up to St James' Park.
"Thank you for being just a great game changer. Wish you all the best.
"I hear you are likely to get in on Friday or Saturday, so I hope you are on schedule.
"Don't worry, you have a week before the Crystal Palace game so if you are a little bit late it doesn't matter- as long as you are there for that!
"Hope your feet are not too sore and wish you all the best."
And to the Josh's delight, a Newcastle United hero weighed in with praise after he completed his heroic challenge.
Toon legend Alan Shearer tweeted his support, which is sure to provide some relief after the gruelling walk by simply saying: "Well done Josh. Great effort".
Speaking to ChronicleLive, Josh expressed his delight as well as his surprise at the messages of support. He said: "I haven't a clue how [Alan Shearer] found out- I tagged him in a tweet but was not expecting it!"
"I'd love to say we're best mates but we're not. I was delighted to get acknowledgement from him, though.
"In terms of Darren Eales, I got sent the voicemail which came through the head of the Newcastle United Foundation which was also really nice of him."
When asked how he was feeling after completing the challenge, Josh said he felt proud as well as understandably, a little sore.
"I'm doing alright- although I'm a bit achy! I'm not sure my feet are quite attached to my body right now," he laughed.
"I'm so proud of myself to get it done. My exhaustion levels are real but I'm over the moon to get back. The last couple of miles felt the longest.
"The minute I could see St James' Park, every step I took it felt further away."
Josh was joined by a friend who completed three out of the five days before having to drop out with injury.
He explained: "I did the last two days on my own. Unfortunately my friend had a fall on the second day- he sort of slipped and landed really awkwardly. He tried to walk it off but he just couldn't quite get the knack of it.
"After that he had to say 'I'm going to have to give in' as he would've done himself more injury."
The Benton dad went on to say that the loss of his friend during the challenge had a mixed impact on him as he felt daunted to complete the rest of the challenge on his own as well as feeling a motivation to see it through.
"At first, I'll admit I did think I might drop out myself because it was daunting doing the rest of the challenge on my own with over 100 miles left but at the same time it did motivate me.
"I just thought 'I'll put my headphones and see how far I can get'."
Thankfully, Josh's determination proved enough and, despite the setback, he was able to see the challenge through after all.
He did, however, admit that this latest challenge proved mentally straining.
"It was emotional and physical. Mentally it really was straining at points as you are inside your own head of course. You do spend time questioning yourself and your decisions but its about getting over those hurdles and getting through it.
"The physicality of it was hard, walking that many miles a day is disgusting," he joked.
"But I did find ways of coping- I would get to 25 miles and then count down basically. That seemed to help for me."
For Josh, however, the pain is all worth it with the money raised from this challenge set to go straight to the Be A Game Changer campaign which is so close to his heart.
He said: "Hopefully it'll make a big difference. I know that the money is going straight to the Be A Game Changer campaign which keeps it running which is great.
"I think a lot of people don't realise that [the Newcastle United Foundation] is funded and that funding can only go so far. By me doing this, I've hopefully raised some awareness of what the campaign does and what it is all about as well keeping it going through the funding."
In terms of his next challenge, Josh has already teased that he has some 'ridiculous ideas' in mind but has admitted he'll be 'waiting a little while' in the meantime.
He did, however, explain that the challenges give him a sense of purpose and that the ability to help those in need in the community remains a real driving force for him.
"It gives me something to focus on. I always say to people, although my mental health is now better, it never goes away.
"For me, having something to put myself into gives me a real great sense of self worth and makes me feel I'm making a difference.
"It's all about making people aware that the big message is what a positive impact the Be A Game Changer campaign is having in the community and making people aware."
He added: "It's just trying to help people speak out about their mental health and have a positive impact on mental health in the North East as well as showing people where to go to get the help they need.
"Personally, for me, it saved my life. It helped me realise where I was going wrong, what I needed to do to change.
"Without the impact of the people here I wouldn't be where I am today and I wouldn't be doing things like walking from Wembley to St James' Park."
You can donate to Josh Banyard's #BeAGameChanger fundraiser via his Just Giving page here.
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