My friend Bryan was a barrister and one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. A scrabble demon with a vocabulary to die for, a double entendre for every occasion and a penchant for anything blue and/or sparkly, you always knew when he was nearby.

He was one of my neighbours who I got to know soon after I moved to Clapham in 2009. He was (by his own admission) utterly useless at anything practical, so living only one floor up and having a decent sized toolkit I was often called upon to fix things, put shelves up or change lightbulbs. In return I would get treated to the latest "news" from the Daily Mail.

Bryan had suffered from mental ill health for most of the time I knew him. The last two or three years slowly became unbearable for him.

Tragically in January 2018 he took his own life. Late one night myself and a friend found him.

On Saturday February 2nd 2019 at 9.30 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, I will be running 10k in Bryan's memory and to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity. Mind offers help and support to anyone who is suffering any form of mental ill health. I'm not at all ashamed to admit this has, in the past, included myself.

If you know anyone who is going through a tough time, simply talking to them can help more than you could ever know. There should be no stigma attached to this kind of illness. Nobody chooses to suffer, in exactly the same way nobody chooses to break their leg or catch a cold.

I'm most definitely not built for running (the picture above post run is a perfect example) so this really is a big challenge for me. Please come along and spectate if you can - just don't get too close to me afterwards, as I'll be a sweaty mess!

Donations can be made via this page, or by texting STVE87 followed by the amount you wish to give to 70070 - ie text STVE87 £5 to 70070

Thank you in advance for your donations and thank you for reading my story.