Sando's Super Halfs - 2025

Join the Movement: Fundraising for Mental Health UK

After quite a turbulent year, and a lot of soul searching I’ve really noticed how hard positive mental health can be to achieve. It’s literally a full time job and a life time goal. One thing I’ve found that really helps my mental health is running, the ability to switch off from technology, pull on a pair of trainers and get out running. The hardest part is actually walking out of the door, the second hardest is the first kilometer. After that, I can allow my brain to quieten down and let my subconscious chew on the tricky issues whilst the active part of my brain screams at me about being in pain! Running is accessible, cheap to do and easy to start, even if it’s a jog to the bus stop 50m down the road, every little helps.

With mental health services cut to the bone and the biggest mental health crisis we have ever encountered, it is becoming more and more important to support mental health charities to promote and support our psychological wellbeing and to support people in getting the help they so desperately need and find it so difficult to obtain. 

So, I have signed up for the 2025 Super Half’s Series https://www.superhalfs.com/en/ in the attempt to raise some money for Mental Health UK in a bid to help provide essential support and resources to individuals and families affected by mental health challenges.

Typically, you have 5 years to do 6 half marathons across Europe - but if you know me, you already know - I’m not going to do that…. I’m going to attempt to complete all of the half marathons in one year - 6 months training, 6 months running, 6 half marathons (minimum). Two of which are in the same weekend in different countries, so I will literally be racing across the world.

This is going to be a test of physical and more importantly mental endurance, and I’m going to become a bonafide running bore (sorry, not sorry), but if I manage to raise the funds, this will hopefully make such a difference to so many people as a result.

The races are as follows:

Sunday 9th March 2025 - Lisbon

Saturday 5th April 2025 - Prague

Sunday 6th April 2025 - Berlin

Sunday 14th September 2025 - Copenhagen

5th October 2025 - Cardiff

26th October 2025 - Valencia

Full disclosure: The charity is supporting my entry ticket only to the half marathons, providing I meet certain fundraising targets by particular deadlines, your donations are not paying for me to have a jolly (if you can call it a jolly) across Europe - all practical costs are being paid for by me, that includes travel, accommodation, trainers, blister plasters (essential), gym training, food, fuel and beer.

So please, please, please dig deep, if you don’t think this is enough of a challenge for a donation to a brilliant charity on an issue that effects us all, I may (may, absolutely no promises) be adding an additional 2 half marathons (subject to ballot). 

Every donation, no matter how big or small, brings us one step closer to a world where mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health.

If you aren’t in a position to donate, all offers of assistance will be welcome - be it coming for a training run with me, helping me mix it up to make training less boring, cheering me on virtually or physically at events, letting me moan about how much my hip/knee/bunions hurt, or just taking me for a beer when I get home.

Thanks so much in advance, this is really going to be an adventure, and hoping to make a difference along the way.