During the month of November I will be running the length of a marathon in memory of my brother, Jamie, and to raise money and awareness for the charity Rethink Mental Illness.

Mental health is something I’m really passionate about both in terms of the work I do in my career, but also in everyday life. Mental health is no different to physical health in that we all go through times of good and poor physical and mental health and it’s so important to look after both of these things. This is why I’ve chosen to support a mental health charity and hope to help break the stigma of talking about mental health by telling my own story as well as raising awareness of accessing mental health services. 

I lost Jamie on 13th November 2011 due to a road traffic collision. Following this I really struggled to come to terms with this loss and as a result my own mental health took a knock. I accessed bereavement counselling to help process this and have since learnt that the death of a loved one is never something you can  “get over”, rather that you learn to live with. Therefore, on the anniversary month of his death, I’ve decided to do something proactive to remember him by. 

Running is something which I have found helps promote my own mental health and is something which, during our current climate, is free to access and “Covid safe”. So I would like to encourage anyone reading this to reflect on your own mental wellbeing and to take some time this November, to get outside, even if very briefly. Nature, wellbeing and being present in the moment was always something my brother was very passionate about, and how right he was 💜

So please, if you can, donate to this important cause and thanks for taking the time to read this.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.