After years and years of badgering off me dad, I'm finally succumbing to his blatant desire to prove he's better than me at a physical pursuit, and going on a run with him - actual father/son bonding TBC.

So I'm running to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday, but also in memory of his brother, my Uncle Philip - two men whose influence looms large in my life for all the wonderful/difficult/inspiring/stupid/unknowable reasons you might expect (families, hey?). 

If JustGiving would let me, I would split donations between Shelter and Mind, but unfortunately they don't, so blame them (and the tories obvs) for the continuing housing crisis, not me. I'm too busy saving the UK's collective mental health. 

Seriously though: the incredible work that Mind do is so close to my heart, and is tireless, and probably has to rely more than it should on dweebs like me creating pages like this. Please do give generously, if you're able to.

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Absurdly, my dad has run almost 100 marathons on every continent (including the antarctic). But has he ever come up against me, when I have my euphoric disco playlist pounding through my ears, and I'm pretending I'm in the final scene of a rom-com, wearing a tuxedo and running through rainy gridlocked traffic to catch the girl of my dreams before she boards a plane? RACE ON, MI PADRE.