Thom took his own life on April 9th 2017 (Brighton Marathon Day) after years of battling with his mental health. Thom's death is devastating and this year has been indescribably hard. Zach and I wanted to do something positive in memory of Thom so on New Years Eve we started planning some challenges... Running 2 marathons and climbing a mountain in between!

Zach has chosen to climb a mountain in honour of Thom and he wanted to do it to raise money for Justlife - a charity which he knew had helped his dad and that his dad volunteered for. In May half term we will be heading to Wales to climb Mount Snowdon - this is definitely the most exciting of the three challenges! 

Why 2 Marathons? 

The last day Thom spent with Zach had started with us both cheering Zach on as he sprinted his Brighton Marathon mini mile - they had an amazing day. I had already entered this year's marathon (with Thom's encouragement edged with amusement!) and it has become incredibly important to me to (attempt) to run it in his memory. Thom is the reason I started running - I proudly watched Thom complete the London Marathon in 2008 - with Zach who was only 7 months old! Running helped Thom with his mental health for a long time and it was this that inspired me to start. I am very lucky - running helps me enormously and it has also given me great friendships as well as peace of mind. Thom had always wanted to enter Beachy Head Marathon as he loved running across the South Downs so I have chosen to enter it as marathon number 2 in October.

Why Justlife?

Justlife is an innovative small charity which supports people in vulnerable housing. They are based in Brighton and Manchester - both of which were important cities for Thom. Their approach is holistic and creative - both through their projects and ethos/aims. For example, in Brighton they have just launched an art project and studio space for service users to work with local artists. In addition to their projects for service users they work to improve policy and practice. 

Thom was supported by Justlife and they helped him find secure housing which meant he could, in his words; 'be a proper dad to Zach' by having him overnight on a weekly basis instead of just daytime visits. Having a flat  also allowed Thom to take Zach to and from school on weeknight visits, this meant a huge amount to both of them. Thom also benefitted from the projects they ran and he would love the art project they have started. Thom volunteered for Justlife as a service user and the team genuinely really cared about him and valued his input. It gave have him a sense of self that his illness often took away. Quite simply he told me that at Justlife they saw him as 'a person and friend, not just a diagnosis or a problem'. This is why we want to raise funds to support their work. 

Everyone has causes which are important and marathon season brings lots of requests - no worries if you don't chose to support our cause but thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Imogen & Zach

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