On 14th August 2020, my life changed irrevocably and my world fell apart. After fighting depression courageously for much of his life, my soulmate Barry lost his life to the illness. 

Barry spent his entire life trying to help people, trying to do good and make the world a better place. A dedicated vegan, he hated the thought of contributing to the suffering of animals - seemingly a family trait as his younger sister and brother-in-law run Wolfwood, a busy independent dog and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre covering Lancaster, Morecambe and the South Lakes. Barry devoted many hours fundraising for Wolfwood who rely on public contributions to support their work. His final wish was for the fundraising to continue, and that’s what I will do.

In 2019, Barry pledged to run 500 miles over the course of the year. Unfortunately, plagued by injuries to his knee and ankle, he didn’t meet his target, though certainly not through lack of effort. 

In his name, I’ll be running those 500 miles for him, starting today - 25th September - His 44th Birthday. Now, it’s been a hot minute since I ran any distance, so I’ll probably take longer than his planned year to clock up the miles, but clock them up I will. You should be able to keep a track of my miles on here, though be warned the tally will definitely be slow going to start with!

I had hoped to set up a dual cause charity, as whilst I will forever be dedicated to raising money for Wolfwood for him, the fact remains that if our mental health was better understood, particularly the mental health of young men, then Barry might still be here with me and we would probably be doing this together. We shouldn’t be left facing the rest of our lives without him. Lives that will be worse by far and will forever be scarred by his absence. 

Unfortunately, Just Giving can’t split the donations, so instead keep a lookout for further fundraisers from me along the way, raising money for 2 mental health charities:

CALM - a movement against suicide. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. And 75% of all UK suicides are male. CALM exists to change this. 

And SHOUT - a 24/7 text based helpline for when someone desperately needs help but the thought of actually speaking to someone is just too daunting.  

This is for you Barry, Always for you.

Thank you xxx

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