Salisbury woman's Alcatraz race 'symbolic' of mental illness

A former army major swam from Alcatraz dressed as a convict, saying it felt "symbolic" of the way mental illness can make you a prisoner of your mind.

Sally Orange, 49, of Salisbury, completed the ESCAPE Aquathlon, and Escape from Alcatraz triathlon at the former island jail in San Francisco.

She hopes to make the "invisible illness of mental illness visible".

Ms Orange is aiming to raise £50,000 for mental health charities in 2023 through a series of extreme challenges.

At the weekend the adventure athlete completed a 750m swim in the icy waters surrounding Alcatraz, followed by a 5km run on Saturday then the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon on Sunday.

Of the 1.5 mile swim to shore she said the current was "really strong" so she ended up swimming an extra mile.

"For so long I felt I was fighting the current and getting nowhere which is so much like how I feel about mental health," she said.

"Then I just gave into it and I ended up in a different place to where I planned then had to get my way back on course…

"It felt so symbolic, just letting myself go with it and getting to shore to find my way back to where I needed to be."

"All around there were people asking for help, there were people being pulled to shore, being pulled onto paddle boards and there was quite a lot of chaos... it was so symbolic."

She said between battling the current and ups and downs of the hilly cycling, the similarities to the challenges with mental health was so clear.

"The course didn't always go to plan and was bumpy and people went off course but it's the pride in yourself and knowing that you've done it.

"Then, when you come up against another battle you can build your resilience and use it for the next round."

Ms Orange, who has had her own battle with mental health said "fear would have stopped her" doing the event in the past.

"My take away is you're so much more capable than you think," she said.

"I definitely wasn't the fastest or the fittest but it was never about coming first, it's about changing your mindset and your own goals to be happy with your achievement."

She said she hopes people are soon able to talk about mental illness "as easily as we talk about the common cold".

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