Hi, I'm a student mental health nurse and wanted to use my upcoming 30th birthday to raise some money for an outstanding local hospital.

Inspired by ultrarunner Ian Morgan's "50 at 50" where he ran 50km through the streets of London on his 50th birthday last July, I wanted to challenge myself to run 30 miles through the South Downs to commemorate 30 years on this planet on Thursday 22nd October.

All funds raised will be donated to the Inpatient Mental Health Services at Elmleigh, Havant, which specialises in treating functional mental illness - such as depression, personality disorders or schizophrenia - in people who are acutely unwell.

• Elmleigh have provided an environment within which I have completed almost four months of training, firstly as a support worker and, secondly, as a mental health nursing student. The team have supported me beyond measure and I cannot speak highly enough of the quality of people working there and work they do, or the importance of the role they play within the local mental health services. This is now an opportunity for me to give back to them and to the people there receiving care.

I will be joined on the run by some devoted friends and family and supported at the checkpoints by family. You will, therefore, not just be supporting me with any donations, but the others running with me too.

This will not only be the longest I will have ever ran but there will be some serious hills along the way, with a total elevation gain of over 1500m! I chose the South Downs as it's where I'm currently living and training; the place I go to relax when I'm not engrossed in the world of mental health.

The "30 at 30" route can be found here: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-7c0e0e8--36?u=m

The plan is to start at 08:00 at Houghton (50.90215, -0.54515) and be back home where the finish line is at around 13:00, passing through three checkpoints roughly 10km apart.

I appreciate that the current climate has placed financial difficulties on a lot of people and if you're taking the time to read this, thank you, your support already means a huge amount to me. 

• If you are in a position to donate, I would greatly appreciate any amount you could spare. It'll all be going to help a phenomenal local team continue to provide quality care to people vulnerable due to mental illness.

Thank you.