Peterborough runners to take of Great Eastern run in support of mental health awareness and in memory of man who sadly took his own life

A Peterborough woman, along with 27 of her friends and family, will be taking on the Great Eastern Run in October in memory of her fiancé.

Georgina Frey has dedicated herself to training for the half marathon on October 13 both in memory of her fiancé Dan Canty (38) as well as raising money for mental health support charity Andy’s Man Club.

The group hope to raise over £10,000 but crucially, also raise awareness of the help available to men struggling with their mental health and to encourage people to not be afraid to speak out if they do need help.

Dan sadly took his own like in March without giving any indication to his partner, friends or family that he was struggling.

Dan and Georgina had been together for five and a half years after first meeting and dating in school before getting married to other people. They came back together years later, however, and lived in Werrington with their five children.

Georgina has said that Dan’s sudden passing left her shocked and she wants to raise awareness of this issue to prevent other families from going through the same thing.

She said: “The most tragic thing is that Dan was suffering with mental health unbeknown to anybody. He hadn’t confided in anybody around him because of what I only think could be to try and keep his dignity. He probably saw it as a weakness rather than talking about it being a positive to make him feel better.

“I want to make this kind of thing normal to talk about.

“We had so many plans and so much going for us. We worked together, we lived together, we did everything together and there was not one occasion where I could say he was having a bad day. It was covered up with laughing and smiling looking back.

“I want men to know that it’s ok to talk, men need other men. Even if it is something that can’t be discussed at home or with friends, there is a closed group with men alike going through similar things.

"It is so important that we reduce the suicide numbers; knowing that it is the biggest killer of men under the age of 40 in this country is just devastating.”

Andy’s Man Club is a national men’s suicide prevention charity that offers free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups. In Peterborough, the group meet at the Hodgson Community Centre in Werrington every Monday between 7pm and 9pm.

The group are hoping to raise over £10,000 for the charity and to support the Hodgson Centre, where the group meets. Money for the charity was also raised at Dan’s funeral.

To support the group’s efforts, you can donate via: https://www.justgiving.com/page/fordan.

Georgina added: “I could not run a mile before this. We have all trained ridiculously hard and we meet to run together. It has been tough to say the least but we have had huge support from the local community.

"We’re going to have huge boards dotted around with Dan’s pictures on and the link to donate. It will be a great reminder of why we are doing this no matter how hard it gets.”