Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

A little while ago I decided to it would be a good experience to run a marathon. I also decided if you’re only going to do one marathon, then I think the one you should do is the original marathon, from Marathon to Athens. As 2010 will be the 2500 year anniversary of the first marathon it seemed like as good a time as any. I thought it would also be a good chance to raise some much needed funds for a very worthwhile cause.

I was going to write a little blurb about depression but while researching I came across this from Depression Alliance

·         One in five people will have depression at some point in their lives.

·         More than 2.9 million people in the UK are diagnosed as having depression at any one time. As many as three in four cases of depression are neither recognised nor treated.

·         Depression is a killer with more than 70% of recorded suicides being committed by people with depression.

·         The World Health Organisation estimates that by the year 2020, major depression will be second only to chronic heart disease as an international health burden.

·         More than 80% of people with depression can be helped with the appropriate treatment.

·         Depression Alliance is the leading UK charity for people affected by depression. We provide information and support services to anyone affected by this debilitating illness.

That’s pretty sobering reading but there’s more. In the UK in 2008 (the most recent published data), there were 5,706 suicides or 15 people every day. For every suicide, a countless number of family and friends are left wondering why and what might have been. Questions that may never be answered

I’ve chosen to support Depression Alliance as unfortunately a couple of friends have committed suicide over the last few years (both men in their 20s). Anything you can give to help Depression Alliance do their work is greatly appreciated.

Also there’s £500 worth of matched funding from Ernst & Young so please dig deep people!

Thanks and wish me luck,

Iain

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.