A Londoner whose brother took his own life when he was a teenager is running 12 marathons in 12 months in his memory.
Emma Cooper’s brother Jamie died in 2005, aged 19. His death came as a “complete shock” to his siblings and father.
The 31-year-old said Jamie’s death made her want to dedicate herself to raising awareness about mental health and suicide in young men.
Ms Cooper, from Islington, said: “He really was the life and soul of the party, and it was never dull when he was around.
“When we lost him it came as a complete shock, there was just no warning signs.”
Ms Cooper was only 17 when her brother died, she said.
She said she did not realise as a teenager that suicide was so prolific in young men.
But she later started working with men’s suicide charity CALM and decided to take on the task of 12 marathons as part of her work with the group.
She said: “If I could dedicate my whole life to raising awareness, I would.
"What’s drawn me to take up sport is that Jamie was quite sporty himself, he would always be cycling or playing football and he was quite active.”
Ms Cooper first started to get active in 2016, before she took on a 10k run as a beginner runner.
Her first marathon in her year-long-challenge took place in April.
Ms Cooper has already run five marathons as part of the challenge.
On Sunday, Ms Cooper and hundreds more will take part in CALM’s central London 10k run to support the charity, which helps hundreds of men weekly through a free helpline.
In 2018, the line and webchat helped to prevent more than 675 suicides, CEO Simon Gunning said.
Mr Gunning said funds raised from Sunday’s run will go directly to support that helpline, as it receives more phone calls than ever from people in need.
He said: “It’s a really touching event because a lot of people running are bereaved by suicide, which is so important that people take positive action to prevent suicide.”
In raising money, Ms Cooper said she hopes it also urges people to speak about their mental health.
She said: “I’ve had my own struggles myself and I believe that by talking about it, by being open about it, hopefully people may feel comfortable about talking. It’s normal to not feel 100 per cent all the time.”
The charity’s cheer point for the run is located next to St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Visit Ms Cooper's fundraising page here.
CALM's free and anonymous helpline and webchat are open everyday, 5pm-midnight. For more information visit www.thecalmzone.net.
