Keppie rise to the challenge once again in taking on Aberfeldy Triathlon in aid of SAMH.
After their success in 2023, Glasgow architects, Keppie return to Aberfeldy Triathlon in 2024, as part of their fundraising for SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health).
Hoping to capitalise on their race day success from 2023, Keppie have entered three relay teams. Two teams have entrants from last year and one team is made up of competitors new to Aberfeldy. They are switching it up a bit too with two of their previous entrants, Jamie Laurence and Sean Cliens, trying different challenges – switching from run to bike (Sean), and bike to swim (Jamie). Two of their swimmers, Ester Coma Ramos and Michael Evans are doing a ‘warmup’ at ‘Go Swim – Loch Tay’ the day before the triathlon.
Stephen Hall who will be competing in the run part of the triathlon, sadly had to drop out last year due to a training injury. He came to support the team on the day but is making a triumphant return this year to complete his run! Stephen said:
“Once again Keppie are delighted to be taking on the challenge of the Aberfeldy Triathlon with three teams competing against each other, whilst fundraising for SAMH again. SAMH is a charity partner we are all close to and are delighted to support from a professional and personal perspective.
After my own disappointment last year, of having to pull out of the team event just days beforehand, I’m looking forward to going from support team member to ‘athlete’ and complete the half-marathon for my team. We have a few new faces participating this year and some of last year’s group coming back to take on a new discipline, the results should be very interesting!
Lastly, a big thank you to the organisers for putting on an amazing event for us triathlon ‘rookies’ and fingers crossed for another warm, dry day…..and for us all staying injury free!”
As we reported last year, SAMH has a long and prestigious background, celebrating their centenary last year.
Today, they operate over 70 services in communities across Scotland, providing mental health social care support, addictions, and employment services, among others. Together with national programme work in See Me, respectme, suicide prevention, and physical activity and sport, these services inform SAMH’s policy and campaign work to influence positive social change.
One of the elements that SAMH focus on is Active Living. “We champion active living as a vehicle for improving and maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.” What better way to raise funds for SAMH than to get involved in the challenge of a triathlon.
Fiona Lewis, Senior Manager – Workplace Engagement at SAMH said “We are proud that, for more than a century, SAMH has been there for Scotland’s mental health. However, the last few years have been the most challenging we can remember. The need to support Scotland’s mental health has never been greater. It is with thanks to the support of our partners like Keppie that SAMH is transforming and saving lives, making a real difference for people in communities across Scotland.”
Keppie are celebrating their 170th year in 2024 so it is a busy time for them. Not only that, on Friday 1st March 2024, 170 years after the inception of the practice, Keppie transferred its entire shareholding to an Employee Ownership Trust (“EOT”), meaning more than one hundred staff became part-owners of the business.
They have remained committed to their fundraising for SAMH over two years with an ambitious fundraising target of £20,000. The Keppie Team recognise how vital mental health services are and are motivated to achieve their 2-year target. 2023 saw them raise £11,331.91, ahead of their target.
Last year Keppie’s Aberfeldy teams raised £3,116 for SAMH which doubled their target of £1,500.
The triathlon team target for this year is £1,125. If you can help them on their way, their Just Giving page is: https://www.justgiving.com/page/team-keppie-aberfeldy-2024
Wishing them all the very best with their training and look forward to seeing them in Aberfeldy in August!