Charity chief executive to make nine day trek from Durham to Holy Island to highlight bipolar issue

The trek will take nine-and-a-half days, symbolising the average 9.5 years it takes to get a diagnosis of bipolar in the UK.

Simon Kitchen, CEO of Bipolar UK and president of the world’s first ever Rotary Bipolar eClub, is using the event to raise awareness and vital funds to support the 1 million people in the UK living with bipolar, and in particular to shine a light on the estimated 56% of people with the condition who don’t yet have a diagnosis.

Alongside Jeremy Clark (Bipolar UK trustee and Rotary Bipolar eClub member) and Jeremy’s wife Daisy, Simon will set off from Durham Cathedral on Saint Cuthbert’s day, March 20.

Simon said: “This walk will put me fully outside my comfort zone, having never walked this far before. But we wanted to really push our limits.

“Every half marathon we’ll walk represents a whole year that our community lives without a diagnosis, often struggling with really difficult symptoms.

“People living with undiagnosed bipolar can experience alternating periods of debilitating low mood and periods of hypomania where they might take impulsive risks, massively overspend, and experience paranoid delusions. Tragically, these challenges often result in the loss of jobs, homes, and lives.

“Getting a diagnosis of bipolar is crucial because it means someone can get the treatment and support they need to have a much better chance of living well with the condition.”

Bipolar UK and Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland joined together in partnership in 2022.

Joy Palmer Cooper, District Governor for Rotary North East, added: “It’s a privilege to support and raise awareness for such an important cause in the build up to World Bipolar Day on March 30.

“Our network of Rotary members and the bipolar community will join and support Simon, Jeremy and Daisy for sections of the walk along the way.”

The walkers will follow what’s known as the ‘saints’ route’ from Saint Cuthbert’s final resting place in Durham to Lindisfarne, where he spent much of his life.

Simon added: “Saint Cuthbert was famed for his diligence – a quality we will need in abundance to be able to complete this challenge.”