Dear Supportive Person

5th May 2007

Well, what an amazing experience the London Marathon was!  5 hours and 8 minutes on my feet and feeling on top of the world the whole time. 

I recommend to everyone that they enter the London Marathon - it is just such a great day out!  The crowds are fantastic!  With the sun shining, music playing in the street, it was a bit like being at a Festival, until we got to the 15 mile mark, when things started to hurt!  After that there had to be a lot of teeth gritting, but before I knew it I was at mile 20 and then me and my new found friend Janet (a mental health Social Worker who I met at mile 1!) just told ourselves, this is like a 6 mile run you do after work, and we went through a role-play on our feet "Hi Janet how was your day at work?" "Great thanks Emma, do you fancy going for a quick run?" "OK Let's just go for a quick 6 mile jog!" and before we knew it we were at the finish!  Mind over matter ...!

And what remains?  Lots of money for MIND - THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN SO GENEROUS AND SUPPORTIVE THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME I REALLY MEAN THAT, and also an incredible feeling - I DID IT!

I have been carrying my medal in my handbag for two weeks and even wore it on a day out last Sunday.  Very 'eccentric' !

90% of the 150 people that ran the Marathon for MIND this year are users of Mental Health Services.  Be Bold and Brave! 

Emma King

x x x x x x

21st April 2007

Thank you very much for visiting my fundraising page! Below are some of the reasons why you will be doing the right thing if you sponsor me online …

Running the Marathon on Sunday is going to be a HUGE challenge for me – mentally and physically. As some of you will know, I ran the Great North Run (half marathon) for MIND in September last year, and I said to myself then that I wanted to see if I can double the distance. If someone had said to me as I crossed that line, " … now run all the way back!" I would have said "you’re having a laugh!", but now on Sunday, in terms of distance, that is what I am going to try and do!

As I was recovering from a 10 mile run last weekend I was thinking "Just how am I going to run 26 miles??" Then I got to thinking, this is exactly why I am running for MIND and is exactly why mental health work is so important to me.

It’s a challenge to run 26 miles, yes, and when you have a mental health ‘problem’ well that is a challenge too. When you are ‘ill’ you not only face the journey that it takes to ‘get well’ but also the fact that many people will not want to talk to you about your illness, many people will see your illness as something to be ashamed or afraid of, which really doesn’t help. Being diagnosed with a mental health ‘problem’ is a real double whammy – a double challenge.

Everyone I know at Richmond Mind, who through their strength and stories remind me of why I am working in mental health, well the 26 miles I run on Sunday (hopefully!) is for them as much as it is for me. I want to say to everyone who has shared their stories with me, "If I can think that I am strong enough to keep going, to keep running, then you are too, keep going and thank you."

Emma.