My Story

Hello all,

I am running the Richmond Half Marathon on September 13 for mental health charity SANE in honour of my dear friend Jim Clemoes, pictured on the right, who took his own life late last year. 

His loss plunged my world into uncertainty and listlessness, where I felt unsure of where to turn to start to feel okay again.

A friend of mine suggested I get back into running and since then my mental health has improved enormously. Often when I run along the streets of north London and in Hampstead Heath my mind drifts back to afternoons in Leeds with Jim, especially one rainy day when we ran from Hyde Park to Kirkstall Abbey. Despite previously recoiling at the foul West Yorkshire weather, memories of the wind and rain now bring me comfort.

I was glad to have Jim with me during lockdown where running was our solace. Though we cannot run together again, as we did at the Leeds Half Marathon in 2019, I will go with him very much in mind for the Kew Half. I hope to emulate his bizarre approach to running: on one outing he found some wild garlic and stuffed it in his shorts, while on our prior half-marathon his breakfast consisted of Stroopwafles stuffed into his face an hour before the race. I still barely tied with him.

By running for SANE, I hope I can contribute in some small way to raising awareness around mental health and encouraging people to come forward and talk in their darkest moments. All it takes is for someone to lend an ear and push you in the right direction. I wish I could've done the same for Jim, but I'm glad I'm still here and can do some good in his memory.

Donate what you can x 

Note: I was originally going to run the Kew Gardens Half on March 29 but due to a hamstring injury SANE has kindly agreed to defer my spot until September 13 for the Richmond Half.