We’re running the Oxford half marathon for Restore

Restore is an Oxfordshire-based charity supporting people experiencing poor mental health through coaching, training, and therapeutic activity.

Why running and why restore?

Those close to me will know that when I was a teenager, I had an eating disorder. EDs like anorexia nervosa or bulimia are often dismissed in men. Needless to say that’s not true, and some research suggests up to 25% people with EDs are men.

Eating disorders are not about looks and weight. Eating disorders are about self-worth and behaviours which make you feel better about yourself and help you regulate your emotions.

The same behaviours also make eating disorders carry the highest mortality of all mental health disorders.

For me running used to be a way to lose weight and make up for the tiny amounts of food I’d had in the day. Since getting better about 10 years ago, I have avoided running because I found it triggering and it would sometimes put my mind in a dark place from the past.

Now, im so happy to say that I’m reclaiming running for myself and discovering the joy of running for running.

I feel so privileged to be in this position where I speak of my ED as mainly a thing of the past.

I’m not sure you can ever fully recover from an eating disorder, but I’m a living example that you can restore your mental health and life.

Please support our fundraiser!