Running the London Marathon has been a dream of mine for a few years now, and whilst I’m excited to take on this new challenge, the motivation at the heart of it has a more sombre tone.

On 4^th January 2015 a lovely lad, George Chiverton, made a decision that many will always struggle to understand - and he left us. He was 21.

I grew up with George, he was my parent’s godson, and when I heard the news I couldn’t reconcile George’s happy, fun, attitude with the George who could be in such a dark place.. This seemed to be the case with others who loved George. At his memorial service there were endless stories of his infectious humour and love for those around him.

Male suicide rate is at its highest since 2001 and is the biggest killer of men aged under 45. This simply cannot continue. So I’m running for Mind, a fantastic mental health charity, working to combat this serious and ever developing issue.

When I’ve explained the decision behind the charity I’m running for, it has frequently been met with a similar story. George’s actions are sadly part of a much wider issue in the UK today and we just can’t afford to lose anymore Georges.

Please donate what you can, whether you’re throwing money you’d normally spend on a morning coffee into the pot or something much grander, it all counts.

You can read more about the work Mind does here: http://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/