Couple’s epic reservoir run raises funds for suicide prevention charity CALM

It was a trek in the country with a difference. Terri Docza and her husband Stephen ran around Kielder Water reservoir, in Northumberland, not once but four times, clocking up 106.25 miles for charity.

The four continuous laps included 10,835 feet of climbing and it took 34 hours and 26 minutes to complete – Terri said it amounted to “basically four marathons back-to-back”.

She said: “It wasn’t an organised event. There was no crew and no aid stations. It was just the two of us, with our motorhome acting as our little base between each lap.

“We did it to raise money and awareness for CALM, Campaign Against Living Miserably, the suicide prevention charity.

"We’ve both had our own experiences with mental health struggles, so this was about much more than just running a ridiculous distance. We wanted to raise money, but also remind people that they’re not alone.”

She said they are not professional athletes. “We’re just an ordinary couple who got into running, hiking and taking on challenges, and somewhere along the way it became a way of rebuilding ourselves, pushing our limits and hopefully doing something meaningful with it,” she said.

There’s a strong Yorkshire connection too. Terri grew up in Leeds and served for four years in the British Army, including a tour of Afghanistan. Stephen was born in Hungary but as he likes to put it he was “made in North Yorkshire”.

Their home is in Cowling, North Yorkshire, although they are working in Bellingham, Northumberland, as campsite assistants.

So far they have raised £1,250 for CALM, and the fundraising page is still open. She added: “We’ve also been invited back to take part in the official Kielder Marathon on October 4, which should feel almost like a short run after this one.”

Terri said: “We are calling this challenge “The Weight We Carry” because not all weight is measured in kilograms. Some weight sits on the body.

"Some weight sits in the mind. Some weight comes from the past. Some weight comes from pressure, grief, regret, addiction around us, family history, loneliness, money worries, self-doubt, and the quiet battles people carry without anyone really seeing.”

She added: “This run is about mental health awareness. It is about opening conversations.

"It is about reminding people that they are not alone, even when life feels heavy. It is about proving that we are not finished just because we have struggled, fallen, changed direction, or carried more than people know.”