I recently found out that an ex colleague and friend of mine, Milo, took his own life at the age of 27.  Milo was smart, funny, sporty and seemed to live a very healthy and fulfilling life with his best years still ahead of him.  He loved sports, especially lacrosse and was vice captain of his university team. He secured an impressive job at the prestigious Oxford Biomedica and was embarking on his career as a scientist.  From the outside, everything was ticking along very nicely.

However nobody knew what he was going through, none of his friends, family or colleagues had any idea things had got so bad.  There are still many questions left unanswered.

My unique Snowdon 6 ways Challenge is raising money and awareness of mental health related problems so that nobody has to suffer in silence anymore.  We need to prevent more men and women, just like Milo, from taking their own life.

This is a challenge that I have always had my eye on and now I have the opportunity to raise money for an exceptional cause.  This COVID - 19 Crisis will have long lasting effects on all of us in many ways and in particular our mental health.  Through my line of work we see the huge impact MIND have on physical and mental wellness, particularly in the workplace.  

This will be a service that will be heavily called upon over the coming weeks, months and years and helping raise funds for their provision is a huge driver for me.  Their work has helped people pretty close to me and I hope that in raising as much as I can through this challenge this service will continue to help many more people who really need it in Oxfordshire and beyond.

I have had my own struggles with my  mental wellbeing over the years and more recently, like many of us, I have found lockdown has brought some highs and lows!

The Snowdon challenge comprises of running the 6 major routes of the mountain, one after the other, up and down and comprises of 78km, and over 5200m of ascent.  I'm running one after the other with limited time between each leg, with an epic support crew and some close buddies running a leg each too, this is going to be an epic adventure, particularly when running up the mountain through the night!  

You can follow all my training progress on facebook @ali hollest , on instagram and twitter @snowdon6wayschallenge

It's going to properly hurt, so please give generously as this will be more motivation to get the job done!  I have some awesome volunteers who have pledged to support me on some of the routes and to these guys and girls, a massive thanks in advance:

Naeem Alvi

Nas Alvi

Rob West

Dan Westall

George Shelton

Ken Rodgers

Matt Taylor

Andy Male

And a whole crew sharing logistics!

1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in any one year.  Oxfordshire Mind helps over 30,000 people with mental health challenges every year. They promote good mental health through the provision of high quality services and campaigning for positive change. Their services include housing, talking therapies, benefits advice, a confidential and free information line, courses (such as ‘practical ways to wellbeing’), physical activity programmes, volunteering opportunities, and they facilitate over 60 peer-support groups each week.