In April I will be taking part in the legendary Marathon Des Sables Marathon a 257km foot race in the Sahara desert which is well regarded as the toughest foot race on earth.

The aim…. To raise funds and awareness for ADAPT Charity.

I first heard about ADAPT listening To Eddie, the founders story on her personal experience ‘ living with an addict and her own addiction’ I am in awe of the work being done and the countless lives it has changed and continues to change. Hear more https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCLBZtGl4c

The UK’s first very unique supported housing set up, providing free treatment and housing. They are currently based in Oxford supporting those from all over the country seeking abstinence from alcohol and drugs.

However, with your urgent help and generous donations and the reason for me doing the marathon is so that the charity can continue to provide support by expanding to other cities in 2025, not just this but urgently open up support for women. Currently ADAPT only support men.

I believe ADAPT is the new model for treatment, with homelessness rate at an all time high and huge funding cuts - there is currently a waiting list of 55. The service is vital and it is imperative the charity meets its fundraising targets for 2025.

To read more about the charity, please visit their website. Here you will hear radio interviews, watch them on the news and read more about what support is offered to those struggling with addiction. Please help me in supporting ADAPT and enable bringing families back together. www.adaptoxford.org.uk

Mental health, addiction and most importantly giving people a second chance in life are just three of the reasons why I reached out to Eddie and adapt.

Setting short and long term goals have been extremely important in maintaining my own mental health having battled with anxiety and depression since the age of 23.

When Eddie and I spoke we both agreed that choosing for the right event and capturing the publics interest was very important in being able to raise awareness and funds for Adapt. My running background would play a big part in what event we would choose. A marathon perhaps would be a good idea but having run several marathons we felt that more was needed! After several chats and some long thinking and soul searching on my part we decided that there was only one event that would match our ambition and this was 'The marathon des sables' aka ' The toughest foot race on earth'

My last competitive race was the 2016 London marathon where I broke down with injury at mile 17 but managed to limp my way through in just over 3 hours. Surely any sane person would ease there way back in. A 10k perhaps, possibly a half marathon, a full marathon at most! But not us! For anyone that knows me easy is not a word I am familiar with and choosing to run over 250km in 7 days in the Sahara desert seemed to me like the only option so without hesitation Eddie signed me up!

Over the last 15 years I have battled tirelessly with anxiety and mental health hitting rock bottom on more than one occasion. In that time one thing has always stayed apparent to me that exercise is key to me living a happy and structured life.

In running for Adapt and by taking part in the marathon des sables in April I want to raise as much awareness as possible of the importance of mental health and the importance of being able to give people a second 'chance' in life. I have been fortunate enough in my own battles to have a family like no other. So it’s important to realise that other people do not have this comfort to fall back on to and that is where Adapt come in. For the people much less fortunate than me Eddie and her team offer them a chance! And that is exactly why I am doing this run and is what will keep me going every km of the 257km I will cover. Everybody in life deserves that chance regardless of what they have been through and where they have been. One saying that is very important to me and with your support will continue to be possible is 'we can recover'

Thank you for your generosity and support. This is an exciting challenge for me. Every penny add’s up and makes a huge impact to families and addicts suffering.

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