Thank you for visiting my sponsorship page. I have proudly embarked upon a year of fundraising for Mind, the Mental Health Charity, which started on 26 May 2013 at the BUPA Great Manchester Run and will finish on 26 May 2014 at the BUPA London 10,000.

The highlight of the year will be the Virgin Money London Marathon 2014. For a bloke who started 2013 unable to run a bath, let alone 26.2 miles, this is both a wonderful and painful adventure!!

My full fundraising calendar is as follows:-

• BUPA Great Manchester Run (26/5/13): Completed in 1:06:25 (Race #28838)
• BUPA Great North Run (15/9/13): Completed in 1:50:54 (Race #33493 - under the name of Noel Brennan)
• Royal Parks Foundation Half-Marathon (6/10/13) - Race #12976
• BUPA Great Birmingham Half-Marathon (20/10/13)
• Virgin London Marathon (13/4/14)
• BUPA London 10,000 (26/5/13)

Across these events, the official fundraising target is £2,800. However, I am asking you to help me almost double that and reach £5,000 by 31 May, 2014, the day before I turn 40.

So why Mind and Mental Health ...

Simply, the fight to end the stigma around Mental Health, and to raise awareness, means so much to me. Why does it mean that much to me? Well that's simple ...  

Suicide remains the largest single cause of death amongst men under 35 in this country. Back in 2006, I could so easily have added to that statistic, when I took a massive overdose, my second, one through which I had no right to live.

More than 5,700 people died of suicide in the UK in 2010.

Yet, few illnesses are as misunderstood and misinterpreted as mental illness. Mental illness does not have the visible external symptoms of other conditions, those suffering often find themselves cruelly judged, when what we should be doing is supporting them.

1 in 4 adults will suffer from a Mental Health condition in any year. That is a lot of people to judge, and it will include those a lot closer to home than we might find comfortable.

It is #TimetoTalk and time to end the stigma that at least a quarter of the adult population may face every year. I owe my life to Mental Health experts, and that is why I want to go through the pain barrier for Mind.

So, I ask sincerely that you will support me as I raise money for what is an important and deadly serious cause.

Many Thanks

Ro