Background:

My Mum tragically passed away very suddenly after her long battle with drug addiction in May of 2019. I was 23 at the time, my brother Luke was 19. We both watched her suffer from mental health issues and drug abuse for around 6 years before her death.

The 6 years of struggle left me and my brother with many mental challenges to face on our own. We were distraught. I was left at 100+Ibs overweight and felt as though life had me pushed tightly into a corner. The two options were either to accept the path that external situations had forced upon me or to fight back and escape from the corner. 

Through sheer self discipline and some positive nudges from friends  (Daniel & Matt), I have managed to fight back and lose over 100Ibs and have completed multiple half marathons and one full marathon since starting my first 5k in April of 2021. 

Daniel and I had coffee and 10,000 steps at least once a month and would chat on life situations a lot, this helped immensely. Matt mentioned about doing the Scottish half marathon to me one day at work. We both ran our first half marathon together in September 2021, then the Cambridge half marathon together in March 2022. Daniel and I completed our first full marathon together in May of 2022. 

After reflection, it’s going through something difficult with my brother, talking to friends and having difficult goals/ambitions to work towards that have allowed me to become who I am today. It’s all still a work in progress. The TCS London Marathon 2023 is my next goal and I aim to train hard for it and better the time of my first marathon which was a learning curve. 

I aim to show that even when life has you pinned in a corner mentally, you really do have the power to flip around and accomplish big things while helping other people along the way. 

Going Forward:

Running is now something I have become dependent upon to maintain confidence and the correct mindset for getting through life. Yes I have been left with mental scars and yes I have went through hard times but that does not mean I should fold my cards and give up. I use the pain from the past to motivate me and drive forward. 

Seeing my girlfriend Emma and brother Luke at the finish lines of big events gives me a proper buzz. Making those I care about proud means a lot to me. 

The TCS London Marathon 2023 is the next chapter in my journey and hopefully I can support those suffering from mental health problems like I did, directly through setting an example or indirectly through much needed charities like Mind. 

Mind Charity statement:

When you're experiencing a mental health problem, supportive and reliable information can change your life. That's what we do. We empower people to understand their condition and the choices available to them through the following:-Our Infoline, which offers callers confidential help for the price of a local call.-Our Legal Line, which provides information on mental health related law to the public, service users, family members/carers, mental health professionals and mental health advocates.-Our award-winning information, certified by the PIF Tick."Mind was such an invaluable source of information. I can't put into words how helpful they were for both of us..."