My name is Martyn, or as some of you may know me, SnakeO'Martyn (Snake or Martyn) on Twitch and I'm going to do my bit to raise as much money as possible for a charity near and dear to my heart Mind, the mental health charity.

I am going to be doing 3 things:

Firstly:

I'm doing a 25 hour stream on Twitch!

Some of you might know that I stream on Twitch and YouTube. 3 years ago, I did a 24 hour stream and raised £1,174 for Mind back then.

This time I'll be doing a 25 hour stream and hopefully we can smash that amount. This will take place on Saturday 13 July at 11:00AM (BST) UK Time! Think of this your own reality show where I try to be entertaining, whilst fighting sleep and hopefully make people giggle along the way!

Secondly:

I will be doing the Cardiff 10k on Sunday September 1st 2024. This will be my first full race, whilst I've been training I've never ran a race or done it with people around so it'll be exciting.

FINALLY:

I will be doing the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday October 6th 2024.

This Half Marathon will be my first half marathon race and I will be aiming to do it in under 2 hours, which is pretty fast in my head. It's not Paula Radcliffe speed but it'll do!

The extra fun thing about these runs, is that I plan to take you with me!

I'm going to live stream the whole of the 10k and the half marathon on Twitch so for anyone that wants to do one or see what it's like from my eyes, you absolutely can and even cheer me on over the internet. I'll be able to talk to you too, as long as I'm not gasping for air too much!

THE ONE CAVEAT:

I NEED TO RAISE £300 BY AUGUST 7TH TO DO THE CARDIFF HALF. THATS THE MINIMUM TO GET THE ENTRY! LET'S DO IT!

Why am I doing this?

Personally, I have struggled with my mental health.

It's been pretty good recently but it's been a very difficult ride sometimes.

Making sure my mind is healthy is a constant struggle, but I know the importance of speaking up and asking for help. I've asked for help, Mind have helped me but also, my friends, family and others.

More and more people everyday are going through their own battles, which makes the work that Mind does all the more important.

We've been through an awful lot over the past few years that will hit our mental health; Covid, Cost Of Living Crisis, War, life in general... It's all a lot sometimes and I just want everyone to know that it's ok not to be ok and that there is always support.

Thousands of us are struggling with our mental health, without knowing where to go for help.

One in five people in the UK experiencing suicidal thoughts and one in 15 attempting to take their own life.

So we have to make sure everyone gets the support they need.

Mind give advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

They offer so much support to anyone and everyone to help get their mental health back in a good light.

I need your help to raise as much money as possible so Mind's services can not only continue but also grow, thrive and help as many people as possible.

You can tune into the streams here: https://twitch.tv/snakeomartyn

Thank you so much for reading!