On September 2nd 2020, our lives changed forever when we lost our younger brother, Samuel, to suicide at the age of 17. Overnight our family was catapulted into the depths of grief and despair.

As the youngest of four, Samuel was the baby of our family, but by no means the quietest! He was loud, adventurous, smart, and loved any opportunity to regale us all with a new rap song that he was working on. We reminisce about these parts of Samuel that we loved and miss so dearly, but sadly it isn’t the whole story. Samuel faced huge mental health struggles throughout his teenage years and suffered greatly until ultimately, he could not see a way forward other than to end his own life.

We can’t bring our brother back, but we can try to help other young people and their families and prevent them from going through the same heartache. That’s why we will be running the London Marathon this October to raise money for the wonderful charity Young Minds. Why run a marathon? When the enormity of Samuel’s loss has felt too much to bear, running has been a lifeline for us both. It has allowed us to keep moving forward, quite literally one step at a time.

Young Minds are a charity who do amazing work to support young people’s mental health through helplines, campaigning, school workshops, influencing NHS mental health services, and so much more. It is a cause very close to our hearts.  

Aptly, we will be running the marathon the day after what would’ve been Samuel’s 19th birthday. We would be so very grateful for any donations to help us meet our fundraising target, and to join us in remembering our beloved baby brother, Samuel.