I have decided to take on a 2020 Challenge to raise money for Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), a 20-day active challenge for me and awareness & money raising activity for people living with HIV affected by depression and other mental health challenges.  

From Monday June 8^th until Friday June 27^th I will run a total of 144.4 miles which is the distance from my house in Brighton to London Bridge and back again. (A longer road route - not as the crow flies). 

I have travelled to London from Brighton and back every working day for thirteen years and I miss it. 

I miss my friends in London and beyond. I miss their hugs, kisses and frequent conversations in close physical quarters. I miss my work colleagues past, present and our daily interactions. I miss looking into the real eyes of all these people and being able to feel a reassuring hand on all of our shoulders. I miss sitting opposite the same people on the train every day and never speaking to them. I miss every mundane detail of the trite I have forever taken for granted and despite being a ‘lucky one’ on some days my own levels of anxiety are off the scale and I don’t always know what to do about it.

I do know how to run and I do know that exercise outside is a great healer. 

THT support causes close to my heart and those of my community and many people across the UK who use THT’s services are facing particularly challenging times due to the current pandemic. For people living with HIV and in acute financial crisis, the situation is even more devastating, guaranteed to impact their mental health. 

The THT hardship fund gives out small grants to people living with HIV in financial difficulty and can be a vital lifeline for those most vulnerable. These grants normally total £2000 a month, but during this pandemic, THT have pledged to increase this to £20,000 each month. 

I am also running this distance in memory and honour of Larry Kramer who died on May 27th 2020. Kramer is a gay writer and HIV/AIDS activist who co-founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis and AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power: Act Up. Larry Kramer saw the value of affirmative action to support his community even when it made him unpopular with those he should have been able to call brother. 

We could all #BeMoreLarry. #ThankYouLarry