Aeneas Duncan - who is turning 30 in July which has absolutely nothing to do with his sudden interest in running - is going to be taking part in the Hackney Half 2025, raising money for the Hackney Night Shelter.

As part of a separate 1/3rd-life crisis I have travelled through 17 countries in the last 3 months, and it has been shocking to see that the housing crisis in London, and my borough Hackney in particular, is the worst we've seen. That's why it was an easy choice to run for Hackney Night Shelter, who are providing a wonderful service for unhoused people in Hackney.

Hackney Night Shelter provides emergency accommodation for 26 people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets. Staying at Hackney Night Shelter means a safe space to sleep, hot meals, and the support needed to move on to longer term accommodation for over 150 people every year.

I'm aiming for a time of 1:50 which is perhaps silly but it's fun to be ambitious. For context, I ran an informal half a while ago and got a time of 2:30, so I'm planning to knock 40 mins off my record AND survive while I do it. Of course, this does mean I am going to be training while travelling around China and SE Asia so expect lots of sweaty running content.

Thank you for any amount you can give!