My Black Dog is a peer to peer online chat support for people struggling with their mental health. ALL of our volunteers have experienced their own battles with mental health and understand what you are going through. We are FREE and ONLINE everyday.

When you don't know who to talk to, talk to someone who gets it.

The UK is experiencing a severe mental health crisis that will continue for many months and years to come. Over the last few months alone, we have seen a huge increase in people reaching out and using our services.

Our goal is to GROW our service so we can take on more volunteers and support more people who are battling with their mental health. We are accessible, free and here for anyone who needs someone to talk to.

On Sunday 11 April 2021, we are bringing the Royal Parks Half to runners in their community by asking them to complete and track their 13.1 miles in their local area. This unrivalled experience will give our fantastic community an opportunity to connect with each other, complete their half marathon and raise vital funds.

Our runners:

Paul Cherry

Feeling happy and excited about a new year in middle school off I walked without a care in the world aged 11. A loving happy home, with great out of school friends, doing well at school life was good..until.

Being bullied for virtually a whole year changed how I thought and still think today. That experience emotionally ground me down so much it affected my school work and confidence. I questioned everything and every person's reaction to meto a point where I would negatively predict how people would see me so simply shut down.

I had support from school and my family but there were days when just walking to school seemed so draining. Nothing I did would satisfy me. I love football and played for the school team, but If I scored three goals, I would have nightmares about not scoring four. If I wasnt the best friend to all friends, I would beat myself up and run myself to exhaustion to help them all. I could never just stop and allow myself some time. So that is when I first started to use my mask. Life seemed to demand that I was constantly wear a mask; as outwardly I was always so confident, kind, happy and bound to succeed; whilst so much hurt, anger and at times despair behind it. The more outwardly confident and successful I became the more the mask had to stay on to hide the real me. The more I used the mask, the more I exhausted myself having to keep it all up.

Years went by and living with this mask constant hiding the real me and stopping me from achieving, holding me back in relationships, friendships and work. It stopped me from achieving a career in football and I drifted into a career path that I loathed. Ive experienced deep dark times when the thought of carrying was too much to bear.

Typing this has brought back how I truly felt, yet still the tears are in the inside never visible. Up until I met my wife in my late 30s, nobody had seen my mask or I should say nobody had been able to see the real me for any length of time. There are days and weeks when I could be eating and drinking the finest food and wine in the world and it would taste like sand, just getting out of bed seemed so hard but I always tried and my mind hid behind my mask.

Fortunately. the weeks are more like days now. I have two wonderful children and wife who are my life, I have my mask and it will never be thrown away, it will always be with me just now I dont wear it as much, but yes, I do still wear it at times. There are times when the easiest of decisions become muddled and impossible to make, judging again how I look, what people will think of me. The pressure to be a strong but a sensitive caring man, dad and husband, modern and traditional, a great lover and always smiling, but not asking for what I want as others always come first.At this point I crash, stop, and become frightened to admit any mistake or perceived feeling so the mask will appear.,but at least now I dont always feel I have to wear it. And thats when talking to someone who gets how you feel really helps.

One of my escapes from has always been to run. Its the one place I really feel free and can just be me. The more I run the more the mask falls. So, Im running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for My Black Dog as I know the difference that finding someone who really understands and gets how you feel makes. The volunteers dont judge and you never need to wear your mask with them. Its a place to be truly you. Please support our runners as they head off on their marathons, even though we can't be there cheering from the sidelines, we will be with you in spirit!!

Vassos Alexander

Im thrilled to be running Royal Parks Half for My Black Dog!

All of us at Virgin Radio have fallen in love with the charity thanks to Eddy Temple-Morriss infectious enthusiasm, so I was honoured to be asked to be part of the team.

As for running, I fell madly in love with that in my 30s. It ticks all the boxes for me. I run for fitness. I run for escape. For therapy. Self-discovery. I run for the simple childlike joy of running when you could be walking.

Running has given me some of the best friends you could ever hope to make. Its an ever-unfolding adventure. Its reinforced my faith in human nature.

The Royal Parks Half 2021 will be my first race of the year. Its a wonderful annual event which my wife Caroline and I have both enjoyed running in Hyde Park previous years. I think I mostly remember the course - so early on Sunday morning youll find me puffing round the traditional 13.1 miles in Knightsbridge and Westminster - both in honour of the race and the brilliant people at My Black Dog.

More info from Royal Parks here