Last year, I lost my good friend James to suicide. This made me really think about how I can do something positive to raise awareness for men's mental health which I think is a really prevalent issue in today's society. I challenged myself to run the Wilmslow Half Marathon for Looseheadz Foundation who are a charity that support men's mental health in rugby. As a rugby player myself and on behalf of James who was also a rugby player, this is an issue close to my heart and I think that it is important to raise awareness and allow men to have a place where they can openly talk about a way they feel especially in rugby situations where it hasn't always been traditionally encouraged.

This year, I have challenged myself to go one step further and I am going to run London Marathon to raise awareness for men's mental health. I hope that I can encourage men to talk more about the way that they feel. Especially as I was never someone to talk about there feelings but i learnt through going through hard times in the past year that people do care and want to listen and your friends will never judge you for showing vulnerability. My aim is for men to see this and know that they are able to have a way of sharing their emotions, whether that be with me, other friends or by attending therapy, there will always be someone that will care to listen to your story.

I know that this run will be mentally and physically challenging but i want to push myself to make myself proud and raise awareness for a cause that is deeply important to me.