It's Movember 2023. More than just a chance to grow a moustache, Movember presents an opportunity to raise awareness for Men's Mental Health in any way we can. This year, Content Editor Will Clarke has set himself the challenge of running 60KM (thats nearly 1.5 marathons!) to keep the conversation going. We asked Will to tell us more.
What is it you’re doing? Quickly explain what you're doing and why.
I am attempting to grow a moustache this month for Movember and I am also running a total of 60k over the course of November. After discussing this choice with others I realised that I only needed to do one of the options, but the beard had already been shaved off by this stage so there was no going back!
The distance of 60k is to represent the 60 men lost to suicide globally, every hour. Some people cover the 60k all in one go but my health hasn’t been fantastic this month so I opted to spread it out. Knowing that the money raised helps to fund mental health projects and pushes towards tackling suicide, it also supports research into both prostate cancer and testicular cancer; all of these causes are a massive motivator for me. While running I am remembering those that we have lost to suicide. It also reminds me of how far I have personally come with my journey to better mental health.
What inspired/pushed you to take this challenge onboard?
I decided to push myself to achieve my first ever Half Marathon in October of this year and that was in aid of The Grand Appeal (Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity). This was a charity that makes a massive difference for young people’s lives and through this I found that running for a cause that I genuinely support gives me a real purpose to keeping fit and active.
Too often we lose people that we love way before their time and standing in solidarity with every single person that is raising money and recognising Movember, in their own way, is a huge inspiration.
Will joined Little Dot Studios in March 2020.
He works as a Content Editor in our Entertainment Team.
How is it going so far? Easier than you thought? Harder than you thought? Any stand out moments/moments of runners high?
In terms of my moustache, I am relieved to have hair back on my face again as I felt like I looked like a very much younger version of myself. My partner wasn’t a massive fan of the shaved look initially and luckily we agreed on that. Some of my family members were pushing for me to have a handlebar moustache but I had my work headshot taken two weeks ago and I didn’t want to be haunted by that image of myself every single time I opened LinkedIn.
The running so far has been steady but relatively difficult for me to achieve as I have discovered that my asthma struggles in the colder months. But, I have time left and I have now purchased decent winter running clothes which will hopefully help me push through the challenge and achieve the 60k.