Manchester Half Marathon #McrHalf

I was up far too early on Sunday morning (5AM!) to get to Manchester in plenty of time for the half marathon. However I was boosted by knowing that I was running for YoungMinds. It was still dark when we had walked to the start area near Old Trafford:

With my family, I joined plenty of other runners in the local Costa for one last drink before the race. At this point my race nerves kicked in so I headed to my start pen way ahead of time! This gave me a chance to chat to other runners and even share a mutual birthday hug with another participant, We were all well covered up due to the classic Manchester weather:

The event started in waves, so being in Pen F we had over half an hour to wait before it was our turn to set off round the streets of Manchester. The first few kilometres were a loop towards the city centre and then back again to the start area - and my first glimpse of my family. Despite doing my best to go off too fast I soon realised I was far too close to the 2:15 pacer and managed to ease off a bit as we headed down the A56 towards Sale:

YoungMinds fighting for young people's mental health

I have decided that I need to let a charity benefit from my bonkers birthday idea of running the Manchester Half Marathon. I asked my children who I should support and my daughter immediately suggested YoungMinds:

As a family we know from personal experience what an impact mental health issues can have on young people and their families. We also know that the NHS does not have enough funding for its Child Adolescent Mental Health Services which means young people do not receive the help and support they need to get through tough times.

There I have set up a Just Giving page for the half marathon in aid of YoungMinds. My daughter and I also created birthday fundraisers on Facebook (her birthday is the day after mine!) and so far have raised £79 for the charity.