In my late teens I suffered with Anorexia. I avoided social situations, ate a yoghurt a day and weighed over 3 1/2 stone less than I do today. In my early twenties I felt a failure when I no longer had the self-discipline to restrict and my disordered eating developed into bulimia. I gained a stone a year which led friends and family to believe that I had 'recovered' however my relationship with food and body image remained complicated. 

As an adult I have tried to disentangle my dysfuntional relationship with food and accept its role as fuel for life and my love of running with a priority to be fit, healthy and happy. There are times when I still struggle with how all consuming this can feel and the anxiety that ensues can be overwhelming. I suspect this may always be a work in progress.

As a mother I want to be able to model better choices for my family and for my daughter to know that who she is matters more than what she looks like. In a world so preoccupied with body image I hope that by running for beat I can raise awareness about how instrumental our relationship with food can be in terms of both physical and mental well-being. How our worth is not determined by our weight or size as ultimately happiness comes from within and begins with self-acceptance.

xxx