AN ‘ECSTATIC’ Lutterworth man completed a gruelling charity rowing challenge – with just two seconds to spare.
Sunim Koria set himself the goal of rowing 50,000 metres – 31 miles – in under four hours on his indoor rowing machine to raise money for mental health charity Mind, on behalf of his employer Lantra.
And on Monday January 18 – ‘Blue Monday’, widely claimed to be the most depressing day of the year – Sunim completed the challenge with a time of 3:59:58.
Kind donations from the public helped him raise over £2,420 – nearly five times his £500 target.
Freelance musician and e-learning product developer Sunim, originally from Rugby, said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support received. Some individuals have donated up to the sum of £200, which is absolutely staggering.
“The generosity of so many people has been amazing, and this will really help maintain the brilliant service Mind has to offer at a time of crisis for the nation’s mental health.
“The row itself was definitely one of the most taxing activities I have ever undertaken, and 12 weeks of intense training truly paid off.
“I lost all mental focus and consistency after 30 kilometres, but managed to struggle my way to the end in the nick of time – with the help of a lot of Lucozade!”
Sunim said his hobby had helped him to deal with his frustration and fill the void left by the lack of freelance music work during lockdown.
He said: “Indoor rowing has helped improve my wellbeing considerably, so coupling this activity with a fundraising event for an important mental health charity goes hand in hand.”
He added services like Mind were more important than ever before, with the ‘nation’s mental health in crisis’.
“Mind have been incredibly resourceful to my employer over the years,” he said, “lending their support for a number of wellbeing event days and mental health awareness training.
“Times are truly tough at the moment, and no-one should have to face a mental health problem alone.”
Sunim’s fund-raising appeal is still active. Visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SunimKoria to donate.
