My Richmond Marathon and press ups for Mind

A colleague once said to me that there is at least one Marathon in us all. I never believed him. Well, from not running a few years ago I have decided to go ahead and do a marathon and I would love to raise some money to hopefully help others too and hopefully my story below helps explain why I am running the Richmond Marathon on 10th Sept 2023 for Mind.

For those of you that know me know that a few years ago the only thing that I would have run was probably a bath, let alone marathon. Running was something that other people did and was not for me. But a lot has changed. I would love if you could give anything to support me running my first marathon in less than 3 months and raising some funds for Mind along the way.

Why am I doing this now? (Trigger warning, mention of self harm and suicidal thoughts)

Following being prescribed anti-depressants and recovering from poor mental health since 2017 running has been a huge benefit for me. Not only has it helped my mental health but also my physical health. I have gone from drinking most nights and spells of suicidal thoughts and self harm to a slightly fitter person, inside and out. My other passion has always been fishing and this too has benefits for your mental health so running is by no means the only thing. After years of ignoring the problems, never taking time out to focus on my mental health and making all the wrong changes and decisions in my life, I received help from charities such as Mind as well as private medical care and workplace counsellors. It is important to talk, none of us are invincible and help is out there. I often felt like there was someone more in need of help than me and questioned myself why I was feeling like this when others have been through more traumatic times and on the face of it I had all anyone could want in life. It is clear I am not alone though, as the statistics published on the Samaritans website from the Office for National Statistics show that the rate of suicide is unacceptably high and I hear this quote a lot that suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35 so more people must be having thoughts about it too. Dont let yourself question too much or wait too long to talk to professionals at these charities who can help and are happy to help, I never felt like a nuisance. It seems to have taken a long time for triggers causing me to want a drink or have dark thoughts to subside. My resiliency is nowhere near where it used to be. I find myself avoiding certain stressful situations but it is a journey. To put it into context I have never broken a bone but I know it must hurt and that you will go through pain, suffering and that you must take time to heal. I also understand that what ever caused you to break your bone will probably be something that you are more conscious of going forward. From my experience I think mental health is similar and if you have been through mental health challenges and you have come through then celebrate the hours, days, weeks and hopefully years that it has been behind you. Well done, because it doesnt matter what got you into that position, and it doesnt matter what anyone else thinks about that reason, you have overcome it and that is all that matters.

Please help me in raising money in aid of Mind and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

I am sure many of you know, Mind is a mental health charity. They are here to make sure anyone with a mental health problem has somewhere to turn for advice and support.