If you ask my family and friends to describe me in one word they would say compassionate, dependable, brave, resilient, lovely, principled, tenacious, bubbly. One word they wouldn’t say is RUNNER!

The past couple of years have been difficult, I lost my sister, nan and cousin, leaving me with crippling grief and anxiety. Because of this I decided to make 2026 a year of challenging myself in a way I’ve never dreamed of before.

I dusted off my trainers and started running. Well, shuffling is a better description but I was out there doing it. Putting one foot in front of the other. Slowly building up from 10 minutes. And now I’ve taken the challenge to the next step and I’m running the Swindon half marathon.

I’m running to support the wonderful charity Willows Counselling and Training. The work they do to help people with mental health issues is amazing. I am privileged to work with them, and see firsthand the difference they make to people’s lives. I couldn’t have gotten through the past few years without them and now I’d like to pay that forward to future clients who need our support.

Anything you can give will go directly to making a difference to someone who really needs help with their mental health.

Not only are you supporting a great cause, you’ll be keeping me going as I take on one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced.

Thank you