Swanage estate agent Colin Cattermole has set himself the ultimate weekend challenge – to run 100 kilometres of the Jurassic Coast Ultra in just 20 hours to raise funds for Dorset Mind.
The race, over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 18th and 19th May 2024, has a reputation as one of the toughest events on the South Coast, starting in Corfe Castle and ending in Bridport in Dorset.
Estate agent Colin Cattermole is looking forward to the race of his life
Determined to complete the course
With more than 2,000 metres of elevation, the punishing course takes in Swanage, Worth Matravers, Tyneham and Lulworth Cove before following the coast path to Weymouth, Abbotsbury and West Bay.
Although Colin has previously entered the race, falling short of the finish line at 70km, he is determined to complete the course this time around to raise awareness and money for a cause which is very close to his heart.
His brother in law Hayden passed away after mental health issues three years ago and his brother, S Club 7 star Paul, died suddenly at his home in Wareham in April 2023 of heart failure.
Colin is running the 100 kilometre course with James Farran, a colleague from HIVE and Partners estate agents, so that they can support each other along the way and talk about issues which are important to them.
The Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge passes Durdle Door on its 100 km route from Corfe Castle to Bridport
A new sense of purpose and drive
Colin Cattermole said:
“I made a solo attempt to run the Ultra in 2021, but I didn’t train enough and reached a point where I just couldn’t go any further.
“I was running for Mental Health UK and I really wanted to do the best I could, but I was able to go out with my head held high knowing that I would be back again and here we are!
“I am 100 percent better prepared this time, training with someone and running an event with them really helps the psychological side of running, knowing someone is there, pushing each other onwards, talking about what is on your mind and it really helps the journey.
“I’ve found that running has made a significant positive impact on my own mental health. It’s given me a new sense of purpose, drive, a clear goal to strive for and a sense of peace and clarity.”
Colin’s running partner for the Ultra will be his colleague from HIVE, James Farran
Supporting mental health for 75 years
HIVE has partnered with Dorset Mind as a way of giving back to the community, and has organised events like a bake-off challenge and a plane pull to raise money for the charity which has supported Dorset’s mental health for more than 75 years.
After Colin entered the Bournemouth half marathon to top up appeal funds and finished in a respectable time of 2 hours and 14 minutes, Dorset Mind asked him what else he had on the cards and the plan to repeat his Ultra run was sealed.
Having trained hard over the last year, and with a kindred spirit in James Farran to run alongside him – and to talk about whatever is on their minds – Colin is quietly confident of finishing the race in less than 20 hours.
The colleagues hope to be able to add £1,000 towards a £5,000 target for Dorset Mind to deliver life-changing services to adults and children, including active monitoring and triage in doctors’ surgeries, counselling, wellbeing groups and mentoring
Competitors begin the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge at Corfe Castle
“Every step counts”
Colin Cattermole said:
“It’s an intense and beautiful race from Corfe Castle to Bridport, whether you jog, run or even walk it over the weekend – some people are very serious about it and set off at 6 in the morning as part of their professional runs.
“I’ve always felt there is room for people who don’t like to take things too seriously but still want to be part of the event and work towards a goal.
“I’m a real believer in setting a goal then setting milestones to get there, and I find that exercise has helped me to maintain family life, a career and working life.
“Having a goal, no matter how big or small, can help keep you focused through the difficult challenges we face in our current day society. It’s a reminder that every step counts towards making a difference to yourself or someone else.”
Colin has regularly been running 15 to 20 kilometre routes over Nine Barrow Down and out to Corfe Castle
“Grief is also a big factor”
Colin added:
“I started running as lockdown was beginning to ease, I’d noticed from my friends how tough it had been for everyone and I needed something to focus on – so I did a lot of running to get out of the house and perhaps the hour of exercise we were all allowed was stretched to two or three!
“Entering the Ultra was partly for the positive effects of setting a goal for me while trying to raise awareness of people who felt they were stuck and suffering with their mental health.
“Since then, Hayden and Paul have both passed and grief is also a big factor. Paul was such a large figure in the lives of all my family and it wasn’t an easy thing trying to deal with the passing of my brother, especially as it was in the news everywhere.
“How we deal with all that grief, I still don’t know, but it helps me to run, because it makes me feel good and I can actually think about Paul and Hayden whilst I’m out there.
“You concentrate on the next step ahead of you and on your breathing and it just helps you to place things in your mind more easily – a bit like a meditative state I suppose, where I can think about them both and all the good things that came with them.”
“He must have been feeling low for some time”
Colin Cattermole said:
“Hayden’s death was such a shock for someone who was such a lively soul and a lovely guy, very intelligent, I could go on for ages. He was incredibly nice, very sensitive and would never say a bad thing about anybody.
“One day you are having a meal, and the next day you find out he has passed. It is still difficult to understand, he must have been feeling low for some time, but nobody knew.
“Since then, as a family, we have been reading about the subject so much and know that sometimes people feel too ashamed or embarrassed to talk, and feel they are the only one in that situation.”
The Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge will head through Swanage on Saturday 18th May 2024
“Communication is key in life”
Colin added:
“What you would do just for them to tell you how they feel, so you could say, let’s see how we can help. They might need to do nothing for a week, a year, or they might need to work in a different job, meet new friends – you don’t know until you know.
“What I do know is that communication is key in life, with relationships, jobs – if you have the right tools to communicate it is everything, especially in this modern age.
“Kids these days so often have their screens and seem lost in them. There is a lost art of being able to communicate, but we need to prepare these children for when they are older, which is why charities like Dorset Mind are crucial.”
Further information
- Support Colin and James on the HIVE Just Giving page for Dorset Mind
- Read more about the gruelling Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge
