This race has been a long time coming.

I was due to run The Great North Run in 2020. But we all know what happened then.

Then I postponed it in 2021, as we were not out of the woods in terms of a global pandemic. And they changed the route. And I had a marathon the next month.

Then here we are in 2022, and the reasons for running this race are still there and probably becoming more and more prevalent.

I’m running the Great North Run on 11 September 2022 for Mental Health Foundation.There is nothing more important, hand in hand with our physical health, than our mental health.

There have been times in my life when I was out for the count, when I was low and depressed and considering suicide. It was the support of family and friends and professionals that got me through this difficult time. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of or something to hide.

We live in such a shitty world where everything can affect our mental health and well-being. But we also live in such a beautiful world where anything is possible. If we can just dream it.

I will support the Mental Health Foundation because they support us in our times of need as well as work hard to find the ways and means to prevent mental health problems and issues. The Foundation sees its role as being to address both the knowledge gap and the implementation gap.

Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing the statistics about the UK as well as global mental health statistics, issues and problems.

Please consider supporting me on my quest to run 13.1 miles again from Newcastle upon-Tyne to South Shields by pledging as little or as much as you can afford here. Thank you.