Hello, I'm Charlie. A 24-year-old Photographer and Creative based between Leicestershire and London. I'm running a half-marathon in April 2026 to raise awareness and funding for preventive mental health research, care and support.

I spent the majority of my teenage and early adult life riddled with anxiety and battling low mood, without fully realising. Truth be told, I still struggle now, but I'm just better equipped at managing how I feel. It wasn't until a conversation with a colleague that I finally gave it a 'name', and began taking steps to understand how I felt, and perhaps why. And that's all it took: a friendly, open and honest chat with another human being.

More than ever, we live in an increasingly digital world. And with that, it brings immense possibilities for managing our mental well-being. However, there is another side we're avoiding. We may be more connected, but we've also never felt so isolated and lonely. The stigma may be wearing off, but our collective reliance on social media and now AI is undoing key progress we've made as a society.

A conversation can change somebody's life. I want to reach a place where all of us can understand and respect each other's mental health, and are equipped to listen and point those struggling in the right direction. The only way we can get there is with preventive research and support, spearheaded by charities like the Mental Health Foundation.

I've done walks for mental health before, but for context, I'm extremely out of my depth running a half-marathon. I'm nervously laughing just writing this. I've completed Couch to 5K, and never done a park run. Training through Winter is going to be challenging, but it's a worthy cause.

I appreciate any donations, big or small. Every penny can make an enormous difference to yourself, someone you know, your loved ones, a family member or even someone on the other side of the country. Everyone deserves good mental health. And if you do donate, feel free to comment a song suggestion to power me through. Big love x

🏃‍♂️ About Event:

The London Landmarks Half Marathon began in 2014 when the baby charity, Tommy's, launched a strategy to double the amount of money it raises annually. A central London half-marathon taking in the city and all of the capital's landmarks did not exist! Tommy’s took the bold decision to pursue developing and launching a new half-marathon to benefit both themselves and many other charities.

Since then, the event has run annually and successfully raised millions, last year totalling upwards of £16 million for vital causes.

🫶 About Charity:

1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England, and that's only those who reached out for help.

The Mental Health Foundation believe everybody deserves good mental health. With prevention at the heart of their approach, they aim to identify and address the root causes of mental health issues, enabling people and communities to thrive. Your donations will contribute to:

- Transformative research and reports which aim to bring equal mental health prevention and care to all of the UK.

- Programmes for all age ranges, including families, children, young people, adults, older people and refugees.

- Critical policy and advocacy, which calls on national and local government to make real changes to how we approach mental health prevention in the UK.

- Life-changing public engagement, focused on offering the public evidence-based and free information to look after their own and their loved ones' mental health.