Extreme marathoner makes a stop in Pennsylvania to promote men's mental health
Nootenboom's goal, however, is monumental—he aims to break the Guinness World Record for the longest barefoot journey, totaling 3,230 miles. He initially set this record, which was briefly surpassed before he reclaimed it when he reached St. Louis earlier this year.
With an impressive history of pushing his limits, including walking barefoot to the base camp on Mount Everest and completing a 27.5-hour non-stop walk barefoot, Nootenboom describes this journey as his most challenging yet. He highlights that the emotional and physical challenges he has faced are "compressed into this one journey from Los Angeles to New York."
He recalled, "I didn't know how to deal with it and I eventually ended up on a cliff... not wanting to step out of life but wanting that pain and endless long dark tunnel out of me to stop."
Across the U.S. the suicide rate for men is nearly four times more than that for women, despite overall male depression rates being lower .
"Because us men do not speak up we start to tense up and we have all this masculine power and we start to abuse, we start to unleash it in ways that aren't right. So by releasing that masculine energy that you have in a more positive way, in a healthy way, you make sure that you balance it out and you don't make any wrong decisions," Nootenboom said.
"So many people pull over to support. People that you know have a link to mental health and want to share their story which creates a safe space for someone else to feel okay," said Nootenboom.
As Nootenboom approaches the last leg of his trip—expected to arrive in New York City on Nov. 2.—he welcomes the public to join him for the last mile of his journey. "I do not want to finish by myself. I want to finish with a big statement: you are not alone," he stated.
Participants are invited to gather at Madison Square Park in New York at noon on Nov. 2, to finish the final leg of Nootenboom's journey to Times Square. For those unable to attend, further information on how to support Brave Men Talk is available here .
The money raised through Nootenboom's journey will go towards providing men with mental health counseling resources at no cost to them. The organization's goal is to raise $250K, which would support 10,000 men in the U.S.
