How Did I End Up Running The LA Marathon?
Well it all started on when August 28th 2009, the day singer / songwriter Billie Myers posted a video as part of her Unscripted series about how she wanted to get her Facebook fan page up to 1000.
Now usually I have to admit I'm one to ignore pleas for help, however for some reason that day I didn't. Instead of ignoring said plea (as I normally would I) posted the words on Twitter "I'll run a marathon for charity if everyone get Billie Myers Facebook Fan Page up to 1000".
As soon as I did it, I can tell you I regretted it. I mean come on the longest I'd ever run competitively was 800m and that was at most 2 minutes of hard work, this was going to be HOURS of running... However before I could delete the thing it was all over Facebook and Twitter and well I was kind of stuck with this marathon thing.
My only hope now was that Billie Myers never got her 1000 fans. A hope was shattered on the morning of September the 4th...
And so began my bid to be able to run a marathon. I won't lie. It's been long and painful journey and caused me to realise I'm definitely not a marathon runner, and on top of not liking long distance running I've also discovered I also don't like running on pavements or roads (which is a slight issue when the upcoming LA Marathon is made up solely of both).
Who Am I Running The LA Marathon For And Why?
I said that I would run a charity marathon if the 1000 fan barrier was broken and so when it was it was time to choose a charity, and there was one I was immediately drawn to - the Jed Foundation, a charity with a mission that not I feel passionately about, but also the woman I blame for me running this, Billie Myers, does too.
Now I won't lie I've found training for a marathon hard. Very hard. However whilst it's
been difficult the physical pain and mental torment of getting through each mile is not anything like what some young people feel. In fact a recent study found that nearly half of all college students have had suicidal thoughts, with suicide currently being the second leading cause of death within the age group. These are heartbreaking statistics to read, but the good news is that there are charities working to prevent these numbers from growing more, with one charity, the Jed Foundation, leading the way.
Committed to helping students become emotionally healthy before they reach the point of crisis, the work of the Jed Foundation aims to do this by working to:
- Help students make lifestyle changes that promote sounder mental health
- Encourage students to seek help when they need it
- Ensure students are in safe, healthy campus communities able and committed to protecting their best interests
And the Jed Foundation doesn't just focus on the issue of suicide.
Recognising that other mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, cutting or self-Injury all need to recognised and treated, this is a charity committed to making sure the shocking suicide figures you've read about above stop rising, and educating people to recognise and intervene when warning signs appear.