Parkour Rail Balance Marathon for Mental Health
UPDATE! (11/05)
Thanks to all of you we have hit our funding target! The page will remain open for a few more weeks so make sure you keep spreading the page until then!
For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the video!
UPDATE! (23/04)
If you want to get involved here is how you can. Do your mile, tag #railmarathon and capture a video or a photo! Deadline for submissions - Tuesday (28/04).
#railmarathon continues to grow as we now hit 30 miles from 30 traceurs across 11 countries. Here is a highlight of the action from Day 1.
What?
27 traceurs from across the globe are each donating a 1-mile distance each accumulating in a marathon. If the traceur falls off the rail they must repeat the mile – checkpoints can be added to make this accessible but you cannot fall between each checkpoint. Keep an eye on the updates section to see who is completing a mile. Follow the #railmarathon on Instagram for updates as they happen.
Background
On the 21st of April David Banks was going attempt to be the first person ever to complete a marathon (26.2 miles / 42.2 kilometers) whilst balancing on a rail. David was unfortunately injured, it is the same injury that postponed the marathon last time and he may need surgery due to a torn tendon. David will honour the event and still complete the marathon when he has recovered. The event will still go ahead and to keep things moving the marathon opened to the wider community - with traceurs around the world stepping up to help!
Start together, finish together.
Why?
The attempt for raising awareness and money for those living with long term mental health problems and/or experiencing a crisis. The money raised will provide access to specialized Parkour sessions and tailored support. The act of balancing on a rail, putting one foot in front of the other and the support needed to pull off the attempt is symbolic of the struggles many people face on a daily basis. It is a call to action for the Parkour community worldwide to question the philosophy of "Être fort pour être utile" ("Being strong to be useful") and how we use this in our practice.
Money raised from the event will support Soul Parkour @parkourone (Germany) and Free Your Instinct (UK) @freeyourinstinct to continue the work they do. A bit about each group; 
Free Your Instinct
Free Your Instinct is a young and dynamic charity that helps people with mental health support needs through the delivery of specialist Parkour classes by qualified and experienced coaches. 
Our aims and objectives:
- To use Parkour to promote mental and physical wellbeing to those who have recognized a mental health need
- To physically and mentally enrich the lives of users through parkour
- To offer development opportunities and coaching
- To promote the Charity within the Mental Health community
- To ensure a duty of care to all members of the club Free Your Instinct started in 2015. 
The Charity was founded by Charlotte Boenigk, a former exercise specialist for NHS Mental Health Services, Charley Hobson-Merrett, a former NHS accountant and Jacob Peregrine-Wheller, a ParkourUK qualified coach with a background working with participants with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Since 2015 Free Your Instinct has established itself as a pioneer of using Parkour to help people with mental health support needs and operates in London and Bristol with plans to expand into further areas.
Seelenparkour (Soul Parkour) ParkourONE
Parkour is an art of overcoming obstacles. Theses obstacles can be walls, railings for stairs. But at the same time they could be problems, fears or insecurities you are facing and trying to overcome. You’re not only engaging with the physical aspects but especially with your personality as well:
Can I make it?
What is holding me back?
Where are my limits and how can I expand them?
Parkour, used as a medium, is capable of creating a holistic connection between the Outside and Inside. Insights, moments of success and gained strength that you can find in the training want to be implemented and want to be used as powerful tools when you’ll be facing difficult situations and obstacles in your own personal life. Soul Parkour addresses primarily people who have experience with (or are experiencing) mental crisis.
Soul Parkour means the fusion of the aspects from Parkour according to TRuST Education (by the ParkourONE Academy) and the aspects of professional peer-support in mental health and psychiatric care. Project leader Madeleine Küsel is both, a ParkourONE Headcoach with almost a decade of experience with Parkour and at the same time a person who has their own experience with mental crisis and today works as a professional peer-supporter in a psychiatric hospital.
She stands for hope, courage and confidence when the person she is working with can not find it for him/herself at the moment. She focuses on the resources of the person, the opportunities and possible ways and manners to deal with the circumstances and supports him/her to explore his/her own and individual road to recovery.
Have a look at Soul Parkour in action (subs available for non-German speakers)
