My Cousin K

My cousin K runs marathons as if they’re fun!?! He is currently doing a charity challenge where he’s running 19 marathons in 19 months, all in memory of a dear family member who was sadly taken too soon from this world. 

MC

A work colleague, who has decidedly and determinedly been training for her first ever full 10km race in London in May, she’s been getting out the door, pounding the promenade and is pretty much ready for the big day (although I’m not sure she’d agree with me right now!)  

I ran with her at the start of March, and we did 5km in just over 32 mins, We ran again yesterday at Kings Park, Park Run and she left me for dust – almost getting a sub 30min 5km – the training is paying off!  

Pete Thompson

In the meantime, we both met Pete Thompson – a runner (and then some!) who sets himself challenges that are barely comprehensible to me – his latest being 48 park runs in 48 hours to support Dorset Mind – we saw him off on his first one on Friday 1st April at 09:00. Then about 340 of us joined him on his 25th one at the normally scheduled Park Run and then today, Sunday 3rd April – about 6 ran with him on his penultimate run, he had family and friends there cheering him on – and I think about 12 of us ran with him on his last one at of this most epic of challenges starting (or is that ending?) at 07:00  – where he was somehow smiley and chatty all the way around – the support from his family, friends and running club felt tangible in the atmosphere around us and it felt truly special to be a (very) small part of it. 

During the run I met a friend of Pete’s –  G – we talked about running and how we got into running – and during that conversation I told him about when I broke my foot and couldn’t walk (let alone run) for 4 months. I recalled my first run after getting the all clear from the Dr and how amazing it was to be outside and be moving again (that run was in Jan 2020) and that memory brought a smile to my face and a strong happy emotion within my body. 

Physical and Mental Health

Being active in whatever way you can is great for your wellbeing, but I know first hand how hard it can be to stay in the moment and do the thing that you know will actually help support you. Finding these kinds of inspirations around you can help, I went on to run 9 more km this morning running around the sunny lanes in Holdernhurst and Throop – 14km in total for today and 19km in total for the weekend – and it was all thanks to other people deciding to do something, that happened to inspire me.  

So if you’re struggling to do the activity you normally enjoy and that you know helps support your wellbeing my advice would be… 

Forgive yourself for not keeping up with it 

Try to find gratitude in what you are still doing 

Take the pressure off yourself  

Look for the inspiration surrounding you 

And try again later 

Our Guest Blogger:

Huge thanks to our guest blogger, Dorset Mind’s Business Support Manager, Victoria Heeley who writes about her personal fitness journey and how taking inspiration from others can motivate us to train our minds as well as our bodies.

Further Support:

If you’re struggling to cope with your mental health in general, please talk to your GP. If you’re in a crisis, treat it as an emergency. Call 999 immediately or The Samaritans, FREE on 116 123. 

Dorset Mind offers group support that can also help with your wellbeing. Our groups offer peer support and helps reduce stigma by normalizing conversations about mental health. You can also check out further support for stress and mental health here.