MOUSTACHE MARATHON MAN 🏃🏾〰️🏅

The hiatus is over -- my mental health fundraising is back!

But this time...I'm running the London Marathon on 27th April 2025!

And rather than a one-month sprint as usual, this year's campaign is going to be a marathon -- with content right up until the actual marathon itself.

After raising £50K+ over a decade of continuous annual fundraising and awareness building for mental health (including £10K+ in the 10th year), I took a break to focus on my own mental health.

I've been on a significant personal journey with my mental health, particularly in 2021-2023, and my drive to fundraise for Mind and my mission is fiercer than ever. And what day could be better to launch my campaign than Movember 1st -- when I'd always kick off my fundraising?

A little reminder, as it's been a while: these annual campaigns organically snowballed over the years, out of a guerrilla social media campaign which started when I was at uni.

There are two elements:

1. Posting spoofs of moustachio'd people and cultural mo-ments

2. Interviews(/podcasts before podcasts were a thing) with regular people talking about their own mental health, to try and drive some kind of meaningful understanding and awareness -- at least in my own circles. *Please get in touch if you'd like to be featured this year too!*

This time, I'll also be sharing a lot more of my own story, as well as my training journey too! Until this year, the furthest I'd ever run was less than 25% of the marathon distance, and I've never been a naturally "fit" person. It's going to be a huge challenge, but I can't wait for it!

My target for now is £2,200, which is the charity minimum I have to raise. After that, we'll increase the target with my miles -- who knows, maybe we could even beat the £10K total of 2021!

I'll still be growing my mo this Movember, and with my marathon pre-training starting this week, you can imagine the social campaign is going to be running away with itself after the moustache festivities end this month...

Special shout-out to the incredible team at Mind who do magnificent work in the UK -- and also to the awesome Movember organisation for being the seed of my fundraising journey back in 2012.

I'll always be grateful for everyone's support; anything you can give DOES make a difference and is very appreciated, no matter what.

Thanks in advance to my creative partner-in-crime, my wife Navreen. Suggesting we go for a 5K on my birthday last year, after discussing doing a marathon over a few beers the night before, has led me here...

Fun-raising? Hair-raising? Run-raising? Either way, I've got some training -- and upper lip sprouting -- to get into!

📸: Navreen

DONATE: www.justgiving.com/page/marathonamir2025

ABOUT MIND: www.mind.org.uk/about-us/

#marathonamir #movemberamir #tashandtales #moustachemarathonman #londonmarathon #londonmarathon2025 #tcslondonmarathon #tcslondonmarathon2025 #marathon #mentalhealth

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