Update: 60miles down, challenge complete! 

As you may have guessed from the title, I will be attempting to run 60 miles (just under 100 kilometres!) throughout November this year; if that wasn't bad enough… I'll be doing so beardless!

Every minute, somewhere in the world, a man dies from suicide. In the UK, between April and December in 2020, there were 3,828 people who completed suicide. 2,832 (74%) of these people were men.

Having struggled with my own mental health, and knowing many others like me; raising awareness and a bit of cash for this cause is something that is incredibly important to me. There is a sense of struggle across the world for many different reasons at the moment, and this really isn't all about money. You can do your bit by simply having a conversation with people about men's mental health, in turn encouraging others to do the same! You can also be an advocate for those who may be struggling to speak up for themselves at the moment. 

The sad likelihood is that most, if not all, of us will know at least one boy or man who is struggling with their mental health right this second. Perhaps a face has immediately sprung to mind, or perhaps, as is often the case, the man you know is suffering in silence. The taboo around male mental health is suffocating to the point where we can be lulled into the false sense of comfort found in saying nothing at all. 

Movember is all about raising money and awareness for issues that can sadly lead to an early death of men, so this also includes issues such as prostate and testicular cancer. 

Onto the challenge

Having never run more than a mile in one go, this really isn't something that I am excited about doing. Those who know me will know that I have a mantra- 'say no to cardio'. Whilst I've always enjoyed the occasional gym session; treadmills and cross-trainers have always instilled a sense of panic in me. I don't have the build or mindset for running, but I suppose that is what makes this a good challenge! 

Now I know what you are thinking- can Ryan make this challenge any more difficult for himself? As a matter of fact I can. Not only will I be running 60 miles, but I will be doing so without the comfort of my beloved beard. But fear not, for I will be keeping my sorry excuse for a moustache (which you are only welcome to laugh at if you have donated a minimum of £1). The notion of me shaving off my beard for an entire month is terrifying to me for a number of reasons:

1. It will be getting cold in November and you underestimate the difference that a patchy beard can make in the colder months.
2. Trying to find any semblance of a jawline is a mission I gave up on when I was 17. 
3. I have incredibly sensitive skin, so I will be dealing with the sad irony of a cold face that burns as though it has had an itchy cardigan stuck to it for a month.

In fact, the more that I type this the more fearful I become of this seemingly simple part of the challenge!

If you are sceptical of my ability to complete this challenge (I definitely fall within this camp!), then I will be uploading photographic evidence of my runs to this page. So please feel free to keep up with my progress and hold me accountable to my challenge!

Thank you so much for even taking the time out of your day to read through my ramblings. I appreciate any thought that you have given to this cause, and to my humble challenge.

Ryan x