Towards the back end of last year I hit a low point that I hadn't experienced for quite some time. The job I'd given so much to wasn't giving anything back. The outlets of life where I did find joy seemed to have vanished. I'd burnt out, broken down and the big black dog had done his business in my slipper. I'd been here before but I didn't see it creeping up until it was too late.

It was at this point that I joined my first Boy's Talk meeting through The New Normal charity. A bag of nerves and with a wobbly lip and teary eyes, I was straight away welcomed into the group. Their peer to peer sessions are a safe space for men talk to talk about their mental health struggles. Sometimes I raise something I'm feeling, sometimes I just listen. It always acts as an opportunity to check in with my own mental health and realise I'm not alone.

On  April 1st-2nd I'll be running the Peak Divide, a two day, supported ultra event from Manchester to Sheffield, through the Peak District. It is going to hurt and I will suffer. If I'm going to suffer for 75km, I thought I'd put it to some good use and raise some money for a charity that has eased suffering in another part of my life.