If you'd asked me a few years ago for the least likely things I'd find myself doing, "training for a marathon" would easily have made it into the top ten.  Well, it's been a strange few years for all of us, and in March I received an email to tell me I've got a place confirmed to run the Chicago Marathon in October 2022...

I decided to sign up to travel 4,000 miles around the world in order to run what seems like a *ridiculous* distance because I want to support the work of the mental health charity, Mind (www.mind.org.uk). Mind does absolutely incredible work, both providing support to those who need it, and campaigning for better provision of mental health services.

Most of you probably won't know this, but I've suffered with mental health issues for most of my adult life. Sometimes it's been manageable, but there have been times when it hasn't, and without the support offered by mental health services, I probably wouldn't be here today. I owe them an immense debt of gratitude, and I'm hoping to raise money as a way of repaying some of that debt and helping them continue their life-saving work.

If you don't have any spare cash, but still want to support my endeavour, then please consider donating blood (https://www.blood.co.uk/). It won't cost you anything more than an hour or so of your time and it's an amazing way to help out. I started donating four years ago in order to get over a phobia of needles, so if I can do it, anyone can.

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.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Thom