Uncle Andrew and I did not make the cut for the 2014 London Marathon: a big black 'sorry' letter hit the doormat back in the summer. We were consoled with the promise of 'half-marathons' and 'no fund-raising pressure'; one evening we both booked places on the Brighton Marathon.

The Brighton Marathon takes place with a little more seaside and a little earlier than the London Marathon: Andrew and I are running towards the 6th April for our Marathon.

Both Andrew and I decided to run for the charity Mind, specifically Bromley and Lewisham Mind for a great number of reasons:

It is a fantastic charity Nationally supporting people with mental health issues at every level.

Every one of us will be affected by mental health at some points in our life.

Finally, my Granny has been involved with the running of Bromley and Lewisham Mind (Beckenham Mind, as it was then) since the 80s. Working on the ground with users to her ongoing presence and support of the charity today, almost 30 years later. I spent much of my early years visiting Granny at Beckenham Mind before and after swimming lessons and then later helping out at jumble sales or just having a cup of tea in the cafe. 

My Granny always describes mental health through the invisibility of the disease; if a person came to you with an obvious wound the treatment would be clear, a bandage, antibiotics whereas with mental health the disease doesn’t have such a clear cure and doesn’t manifested itself visibly. Why Mind is so important, I believe, is because they make mental health very visible not just through tireless care and support of their service users but through constantly raising social awareness of the illness and dismissing the crippling negativity and stereotypes surrounding mental health illness.

My Uncle Andrew and I are running 26 miles for this charity; neither Andrew or I are natural lithe and lean runners, we both enjoy a burger but we are doing this to raise money for Mind. It is really that simple, necessary and important.

We ask that you donate whatever you can - in return we will do the run and I promise to post some hilarious pictures, perhaps even a video of Andrew and I training. 

Thank - you for your time and support.