POST MARATHON UPDATE: 

Marathon Day was all that it should be: cool weather with 42,000 of us pounding out strides for our favourite causes. It was, as ever, a humbling experience for me to participate among so many thousands of “runners with purpose”, and it was a privilege to run for Young Minds in honour of David.

My time was 3:42:09 hours, finishing top 10% of female runners all ages and top 5% of my age category (7^th Brit).  It reminded me why I run the half marathon so happily – the 2^nd half becomes increasingly tough and the last 3 miles are a slog, whomever you are! Still, the superb organisation, the thousands of supporters lining all parts of the route and, of course, the fact that this is the largest fundraising event on the planet make the whole experience remarkable for all involved. 

A great outing, and I thank you very much for contributing to it.

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UPDATE from a friend of the Hands family, Susan Payne, below. Please note that the family will match all donations made to Young Minds through this page in response to this Marathon challenge up to the sum of £100,000:

I am running the London Marathon on October 2^nd, 2022 in memory of David, the eldest and much-loved son of my good friends Julia and Guy Hands, elder brother to Richard, Erica and Abigail. David passed away in March 2022 at the young age of 34 and, before that time, had worked closely with the charity Young Minds.

Recognising and providing meaningful support to Young Minds, a charity dedicated to the mental health of young people, is a priority for the Hands family in honouring David. Increasing understanding through programs and funding for support and research are key to Young Minds, aside from shining a light on a sector whose importance is increasingly clear.

As I run this race alongside thousands of others running for their favoured charities, I will be thinking of David's many friends and especially his family. I also know how much running as a sport has given me over the decades as a place to find rejuvenation and solace, particularly in the most challenging times, with which every person is familiar. As a happy XC runner and an England and GB Team Masters Athlete, I am continually reminded of the joy in this sport as the gift that keeps on giving to a runner's well-being. I cannot think of a more fitting way to honour David's memory.    

The London Marathon is, of course, unique in its history of giving; the best example of the best of British in support of numerous critical charities. I will not be racing on this particular outing and aim to simply enjoy it alongside the masses participating, with a targeted finish in under 4:00 hours. I would ask you on marathon day to join me in your own minds – young or not! - by thinking of David and others like him who have been tireless advocates in support of mental health. 

All donations regardless of size are most welcome. Many thanks to all who have donated to this important cause.

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UPDATE: A close friend of our family has very generously offered to match any donations received on this page up to £100k. We are extremely touched, and know David would have been too.

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YoungMinds is a charity that was very close to David's heart. We are very grateful that you are here to donate to the mission of the charity on David's behalf and in his loving memory.

The charity's vision is a world where all young people know that they can get the appropriate support for any mental health issue that they are struggling with, as and when they need help. We would like it to be a priority within our society for all young people to have access to the mental health support they need, when they need it. YoungMinds is helping achieve that vision in ways that David supported. 

We asked the charity to say a few words about David's involvement and this is what they said:

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was about David that always made it such a joy to hear from him. But it was very obvious that he cared, had a great deal of empathy, and genuinely wanted to be part of doing practical things to make young people’s lives better.

Any survey that we conducted with young people throughout the pandemic to understand their experiences – David was keen to learn about. And it wasn’t uncommon for David to highlight statistics that stood out to him, commenting on the ways in which the pandemic was impacting young people’s lives and mental health, and how he was pleased to see young people reaching out for support.

Our interactions, via email and telephone/ video call, always felt so sincere, and genuinely two-way conversations. From preparing questions he wanted to ask, to even sharing with us his Thesis exploring ‘Social Media Use Among Late Adolescents’, after a brief chat about how YoungMinds supports young people to look after their mental health when online. This kind of two-way interaction is quite unusual, and really illustrated to us the extent to which David cared about YoungMinds’ mission and making sure that young people get the support they need when they’re struggling.

Your donation will help the charity with its three strategic programmes to focus its work so as to have as great an impact as it possibly can for the young people who need it.

They are:

• Never Alone: providing practical and reassuring information and advice through our digital channels, to help young people look after their own mental health
• Someone to turn to: making sure young people have adults around them who can really help. Whenever a young person opens up about their mental health to an adult they trust, we want them to find someone who really gets it and can respond positively
• Powerful Young Voices: building a youth-led movement for change, through which young people can create the societal changes they want to see, in order to make it possible for far more young people to get the support they need

The Hands family thanks you, on David's behalf, for your support.