Just 1 day to go until the first race out of thirty… I am starting with a 10k run in Liverpool on Saturday followed by a 10mile in Preston on Sunday (what was I thinking).

The whole challenge averages out at about 2.5 races per month, so some months I aim to do 2 races, some 3. I was adamant I didn’t want to start before the 18th November (Adam’s bday), which means I am cramming in two races this weekend. Nevertheless, come Monday I will only have 28 to go… Hurrah! I’m actually really excited to get going. If it wasn’t for the prospect of starting this challenge and having something to focus on, I’d probably feel quite miserable and down this week as we approach another birthday without Adam…

Doing this challenge will not only raise money and awareness, but also keep me fit and positive for the year. As mentioned in my first blog, running releases endorphins that helps make people happy, even if just for a short period of time – and this is a major thing for me.

I don’t suffer with my mental health as such, but since losing Adam, I still go through patches of grief where I just feel so angry and sad and like I can’t be arsed painting on a smile. There are a few things that I know I need to do to get out of that mind frame, and running/exercise is one of them.

There are loads of resources online about this, but with one quick search, just this minute, for ‘exercise to help mental health’, I was led to this page on Mind: www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/physical-activity-sport-and-exercise

Mind is one of the biggest mental health charities in England and Wales and I am pretty sure you will have heard of them… Mind provide resources like the above on absolutely anything to do with mental health – how to support someone who is suffering, tips on wellbeing, the A-Z of mental health – the list is endless.

We recently held a workplace wellbeing day in the office on World Mental Health day, and the tips, advice and ideas easily accessible on the Mind website helped us to use real facts and evidence supported information to put on a day beneficial to staff.

Mind is not only a bank of useful resources and researched information, it is a charity that is dedicated to encouraging people to speak out and break the stigma surrounding mental health.

The work they do is huge and they need support to keep going. Mind will get 45% of the overall 30for30 fundraising which you may question is a lot for a big charity? Big charities have big goals and campaigns that require help through fundraising. Here is an example of money spent that supports their ‘unstoppable together’ mission:

You can find out more about this here >>

Mind also can help gain guaranteed entry into some races for big fundraisers, and let’s face it, this challenge is going to get expensive real quick…so I think I may need that support.

So there we have it – 3 quick blogs about each charity I am running for, to give you an idea about why these charities are important to me and where the money will go.

All that’s left to do now is run 30 races….

What do you do now?

• Follow the blog using the button somewhere to the right of this blog (or underneath if on mobile) – you’ll get email notifications when theres a new post.
• Join me on a run! Out of the 9 races I have signed up for so far, I am only doing 2 alone. Which is great. Upcoming races are listed or get in touch to join me and support running for better mental health..
• Visit and/or share the fundraising page – A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored so far. I know it is hard to support every charity you see people supporting. If you haven’t sponsored don’t worry, there is 12 months of sponsor spam to come..