Race to the Stones

Event Date - 10th-11th July 2021 So on the 10th July this year I will be running Race to the Stones, (in the very loose sense as walking maybe involved). 100km or 62 miles in one 24 hour period or less, my first ultra marathon. This will be from Lewknor along the Ridgeway to Avebury in Wiltshire. Why am I doing this? A question I may very well ask myself a number of times over the next few months. There are so many worthy charities who need support, but I have decided to support an Oxfordshire based charity that helped me following the PTSD I suffered after a sexual assault and rape at knifepoint, which affected my mental health to the point I was planning my own suicide. Men in particular don’t talk about their worries, we are frankly bloody crap at sharing our problems and concerns. The usual response from a man when asked ‘how are you?’ ‘I’m good’ or ‘I’m fine.’ When we should just say ‘I am not ok, I’m really struggling at the mo’..... Clean Slate really supported me as it made me understand what happened wasn’t my fault, helped me deal with the negative thoughts, shame, anger and emotions that had built up, helped me with coping strategies in response to ‘triggers’ and, made me feel that instead of existing I could move forward and start living my life once more. Clean Slate support both men and women in Oxfordshire who as an adult or child have experienced sexual, physical, emotional and domestic abuse which has impacted on their mental health. cleanslate.org.uk There are people in Oxfordshire who are still suffering in silence and this charity relies on donations from clients like me, each counselling session costs £40 to run and therefore, if I can raise some money they can then offer their services and reach out to so many more people in our local community. They made a huge difference to me so please do something amazing and support this local charity as I never thought I could move on from what happened to me.