Athlete's challenge for mental health charity

As 1,000 runners line up on Beachy Head at the start of a brutally hilly course on Saturday, for one it will just be the final stretch of an even tougher journey.

Toby Simmons, 30, will have already started a 1.9km sea swim at 04:45 BST, followed by a 90km bike ride, before aiming for a top 100 finish in the marathon.

He is raising money for mental health charity ManKind, in Eastbourne, because a similar one helped him in a time of crisis after two suicide attempts in 2018.

"I was living in Sardinia, running bike holidays in this amazing location, and to anyone on the outside looking in it was a dream life but my reality was very different", Mr Simmons said.

If you are affected by the issues raised in the story, you can visit the BBC Action Line for support.

He believes a combination of long hours entertaining clients and alcohol-fuelled late nights contributed to his decline, but groups like ManKind helped him.

"I didn't do a lot of talking, for me it was a lot of listening, and I realised that I wasn't completely by myself. I was given lots of tips on how to start my journey and how to get to the right place", he added.

On Saturday, he takes on what he has called the Beachy Head Iron Challenge, starting with the sea swim in the dark, despite only learning to swim 11 months ago.

He will wear luminous clothing and be accompanied by a friend in a kayak, before moving onto the 90km cycle, equivalent to the first two legs in a half-Ironman triathlon.

Next is a full marathon in the South Downs National Park, 26.2 miles (42.1km) off-road with more than 4,000ft of elevation, one of the hilliest in the UK.

The money he raises will go to ManKind, a mental health support group that holds weekly meetings on Wednesdays at St Wilfrid's Hospice in Eastbourne and Thursdays at the Community Hub in Heathfield.

One of the founders, Paul Roskilly, a former Sussex Police firearms officer had his own struggles with PTSD but set up the group in 2020 after a friend took his own life.

He said: "We wanted to stop men taking their lives, and there are five members who say they would not be here today had they not joined.

"We meet, we sit in a circle, and we talk about our emotions. It takes a lot of courage to walk through that door and put your trust in someone but they do."

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.