A couple of months ago I went on a 6mile run after work. It was a really good run and afterwards I was left feeling quite empowered. This is often the feeling after a good run, however this particular run was more than that.

I’d had a bit of shitty day and was feeling stressed out, yet post-run, I was left driving home feeling completely the opposite.

Now, I can’t quite remember the exact thought process that led me to my big idea (I’ll explain my main reasons in a min), but by the time I pulled on my drive – literally about 12mins later – I had the idea to run 30 races in 12months to mark what would have been Adam’s 30th birthday in November 2018.

I did what anyone would do in that situation and consulted the girls group chat immediately to confirm that it was a good idea and that I wasn’t just being super keen. They agreed it was achievable and thought it was great (I’m sure they will regret that when I drag them out on a number of races).

I’m a relatively keen runner and in recent years I have done a number of races which include putting in miles and miles of training. I figured that if I could whack out 6miles on a standard Tuesday, I have some advantage of putting those miles in over some weekend races, and bundling them all together to help raise money for charity and awareness for my chosen cause – for mental health.

Reasoning behind why…

I am a huge advocate in running for better mental health. It is no hidden secret that exercise releases endorphins that trigger positive feelings in the body…I don’t really know the science behind it – look it up here. 

If I could start this run that particular day feeling really rubbish, then within 1 hour have a complete u-turn of feelings, then I want to help other people feel the same.

Not many people know this, but the last conversation I had with Adam was about running. I’d encouraged him to run from his house to mine, chill with the family for a bit and then run back again. And for that day, it worked. In true Adam style, he thought it was “amazing” and was asking me “is that pace good, is it good?”. He then posted on his Facebook, asking which of his friends had the Nike+ App – This was so nice to hear that something I love doing made him feel good that day.

Unfortunately, Adam’s problems ran deeper than a bit of running could solve, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to encourage other people to get out there running. BBC’s recent programme, Mind over Marathon helped prove that setting a personal running challenge can help change lives.

I also want to do this to mark Adam’s 30th birthday, as turning thirty is a huge deal for a lot of people. Adam’s friends are thinking of planning their 30th celebrations and in a couple of years, I will be too.

I want to look back at Adam’s 30th and think I achieved something great in his memory. I want to collect physical items, like medals and race t-shirts, and create a scrapbook of memories to look back on, because the truth is – I am terrified of growing old without him, and leaving my memories behind.

And then it escalated…

Like all good ideas, my plan then spiralled a bit out of control and now here I am writing a blog(!)

Since the run that day of the big idea, I have joined a running club to keep me training over the winter, I have done a few park runs on Saturday mornings to get me used to the idea of getting up early on a weekend and I have told absolutely everybody about my plan…so I have to go ahead with it now.

I’ve started this blog to write about my progress over the year so I am not just banging on about it on social media constantly. And also, I hope that people will also want to join me on a few races and share their experiences on here. But we will see how it goes….

Wish me luck!