Hi, I’m Libby, and I’m running the Oxford Half Marathon for Oxfordshire Mind with four weeks' notice. No, this is not a drill.

I got a call today.

“Hey, Libby. We’ve had a dropout… Will you do a half marathon for Oxfordshire Mind? By the way… it’s in four weeks.”

Over the past few years, I’ve been setting myself challenges, things I never thought I could do. This year, I started running, which, if you know me, sounds ridiculous. I’ve never liked it, and for a long time, I didn’t think it was even accessible to me but this time I’ve got a good reason to do it. I'm running for Mind.

Let me use last year's challenge to explain why I'm doing this

Last year I decided to get up on stage and tell some jokes. At the end of my set, I opened up a little about my dad and some advice he gave me that has always meant a lot to me.

I promise this is relevant.

When I was younger, my dad received support from Oxfordshire Mind. For full context, my dad has Bipolar, which you can learn more about here. They offered him support, advice and he developed pearls of wisdom that he'd later go on to share with me. Whenever I faced my own struggles, I benefitted from the support that he had received and I never felt scared about reaching out for help. I held on to the knowledge that the sun is always behind the clouds. For that, I’ll always be grateful.

Oxfordshire Mind does this for lots of people, they shed light. They help over 30,000 people every year through services like talking therapies, housing, benefits advice, wellbeing courses, peer-support groups, and more.

They campaign for better mental health and make sure no one has to face things alone.

It's human.

And that's why I'm choosing to run 13.1 miles (21.1km) through the streets of Oxford to raise them some funds and shine some light on something that can affect us all.

I mentioned earlier that I used to think I could not ever do something like this, run a half marathon.

That's likely to do with an injury I had when I was 19.

When I was 19, I broke my sacrum in an accident that was both mentally and physically challenging. It came just as I'd got into drama school and it forced me to take a much more winding path to achieve my goals (much like you’re doing by reading this far). I also have a chronic condition that is managed well but to be honest with myself...

I never liked running even before I was injured.

I do love acting though. I have spent the past 10+ years working and training physically as an actor, challenging what I find hard and figuring out how to work from where I am. It's taught me how rewarding it can be to challenge how you see yourself and what you are, how you are capable of achieving things you wouldn't think possible and the amount you can gain by actively seeking out the things you don’t think you're good at... and doing them.

So I did what any normal person would do, I sat down at my laptop, opened Reddit, and typed: “How to get into running when you hate running.” ...Four hours later, I had a plan, a Strava subscription and a new found ✨positive mental attitude✨.

In February, I ran my first 5k. In April, my first 10k. Then I pushed to 15k, and in June, I ran my first race just after my 31st birthday. They were each a personal victory, because I do find this difficult.

Here's me and my parents at the end of Reading 10k.

After a tough start to the year, I trained for and planned to run a personal half by myself this August but the world had other plans and a week before I was set to go I took a tumble and twisted my ankle.

I never thought about running a half marathon for charity. I saw it as a private challenge, because I have found this journey very personal, but having rested my ankle and thinking about who was asking it was a really easy yes.

So now you know...

That’s how I got here and why I’m doing this. I expect this half marathon to be hard for me. But I’m also excited because if every mile I run helps Oxfordshire Mind support even one more person, maybe even someone like my dad, then it’s worth it.

If you’re able to donate, however big or small, I’d be so grateful. 💛

I'm going to spend the next four weeks getting back on track and I'll see you at the finish line.

That's me in last place.

Wish me luck x