Last year I ran the Malaga marathon to raise money for Catch 23, a local mental health charity who do great work in the local community supporting people and helping them look after their mental health and wellbeing.

Myself and my friend ali rigby ran the marathon in December and managed to raise an incredible £5660! I was inspired to do this run in memory of two of my friends Hugh Mackenzie and Jamie Shuttleworth who sadly took their own lives.

I met Jamie during my time at university through the athletics team, he was also the captain of the football team. He was the kind of guy that could have a chat and a laugh with anyone and was one of the most popular guys with the sports teams at uni. He battled with depression for many years and was very open about his battles through his journalism in which he was building a sucessfull career. He wrote this article on mental health in 2021 shortly before he died, aged just 29. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19292219.mental-health-awareness-week-glasgow-man-talks-battle-depression/?fbclid=PAdGRleAMoM0tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp8pUS3n5C7B6BvKpesKGf47ieVWjD41D7DFggUrURWy9V9N7vaIF1eYNhsac_aem_S5LSf_ZHE-THiun-RFplFQ

As many of you will know Hugh was a childhood friend of mine. He passed away in 2018 aged just 19. We first met in nursery and from there we bonded through our passion for sport, particularly football and running. In 2015 we were both part of a historic SRAC team that won a silver medal at the national cross country championships, the first SRAC team to medal on a national stage. The club has honoured Hughs memory by having a trophy for character and endevour in his name and the annual Hugh Mackenzie trail race, which also raises money for catch 23 and Hughs family play a big part in its organisation.

This year I thought I’d go one bigger than a marathon and run the Glasgow to Edinburgh 57 mile Ultra on 11th October. This will be a challenge not only physically, but mentally. I will document my training as best I can through my social media. Any donations, likes or shares would be greatly appreciated!