Half Marathon Fundraising

In three weeks time, I am running the Serpent Trail Half to raise funds for the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. BAPAM helps performing artists and creators to beat work-related health problems

So far, I’m at 18% (£90 raised) of my £500 target but would obvious like to get there sooner rather than later and hopefully overtake it! You can visit my JustGiving page HERE

The Race

The Serpent Trail is a half marathon race that starts on farm tracks, then enters woodlands, heathlands, sandy trails and sections of country road on a journey through some of the most breathtaking countryside in the South East.

The Arts

I run for several reasons, but chief among them has become the positive effect it’s had on my mental health. Life as an actor and writer can be incredibly rewarding and I consider myself very lucky to be able to spend my days pursuing a career in the arts, but it’s vagaries can often render you confused, stressed and isolated. Running can help clear the mind and gain some perspective. On the whole, I feel like I’ve been spared some of the darker spirals that can take hold during a bout of black dog, but many others are not so fortunate.

A career in the arts, which is so reliant on self evaluation, self expression and self examination, can place a more targeted kind of burden on a person’s mental health. And when you consider that one in four people in the UK will experience mental health issues at some point their life, then consider what the effects are on those in the performing arts.

Yes, the highs are incredible but the lows can be indelible. COVID-19 has seen some of the most dramatic changes to our industry in several generations.

I’d therefore like you to support a charity that is picking up the pieces of those broken lives and renewing confidence in dreams lost to the pandemic.

And here’s the quasi-political preachy bit: I’m genuinely worried about this country’s attitude to funding, celebrating and protecting the arts in the wake of the last 18 months. Without the arts speaking truth to power, you have despotism and if you don’t take care of the artists, you have no art. We’re in the early stages of a culture war here and we’re going to need to keep every able mind in the arts resilient and strong to maintain the hard work of the pioneers who’ve shaped our industry.

The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) is a healthcare charity giving medical advice to people working and studying in the performing arts. BAPAM can help performers overcome (and preferably avoid) work-related health problems, and they are dedicated to sharing knowledge about healthy practice.

Just Giving

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. You can donate HERE