For those who've known me for a while, it won't be a huge surprise that I'm an advocate for Mind, and over the years I've done a fair bit of fundraising for mental health causes. I wasn't always a runner, but I have always been an Anxious Girly (trademark pending...).

Back in 2019, I set myself a target of one 10km run, which quickly escalated from Couch to 5km, to eight 10kms and a half marathon. Running scratched an itch in my brain, calmed the noise and helped me to find a way to stop my brain going at a million miles an hour (although trust me, I've never once found running "easy").

I'm running for Mind because while my mental health is now fortunately in a decent place, I know so many people aren't so lucky. Therapy, medication and the tools that have helped me are becoming increasingly inaccessible - and Mind not only fundraise to help, but lobby the government to make an actual difference.

Anything you can give goes such a long way, and gives me something to hold on to in the trenches of the long runs!