My brother, Sassan Tahbazian was due to run the Paris Marathon this year. He loved running and I believe he ran to make himself feel better. He suffered with his mental health and is sadly no longer with us. I feel it right that I carry out his wish and run the marathon for him, whilst trying to raise awareness for mental health and MIND.

I am no runner. I like to keep fit but running isn’t my thing. I probably didn’t really think this through when I committed to it, having just three months to train however I like a challenge and have a 12 week plan to get me through. I’m focused on getting it done for Sassan, whatever it takes!

I’m not in it alone. My husband Andy has also decided to take on the challenge after I bought a duo racing card. I’m not sure if he thought I was running off to Paris, or that I’d get lost in the crowds but he didn’t want me to do it alone so he’ll be running alongside me. We can get quite competitive, I will stick to the plan, Andy will probably wing it but a bit of banter to keep us going will do us good!

Sassan was a likeable person. He could talk to anyone and usually they’d become great friends. He was always lively and wasn’t afraid to give his opinion on any matters and was just fun to be around. He enjoyed the lavish lifestyle, often dining in fine French restaurants eating snails whilst sipping red wine…then on the flip side he’d be downing pints in the pub before the footy and getting well and truly stuck into the atmosphere. It’s heartbreaking that he couldn’t find a way to still be with us. Whilst I knew he struggled with mental health I didn’t know just how bad he must have felt. He had previously seeked help and therapy but after everything it just wasn’t enough. I’d like to raise awareness for MIND to help open up discussions and encourage people to talk so that other people don’t have to go through what we have had to go through.

We have fully funded our marathon places and trip to Paris ourselves so every penny raised will go directly to MIND.

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