Marius' One year, many challenges

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My name is Marius and I live in Edinburgh, Scotland since 2003 with my wife and two children. During 2016 I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of my former career in the South African Police Service. My diagnosis ticked all the boxes i.e. re-experiencing (flashbacks), disassociation, hyper arousal (living on the edge) and anxiety and as an added extra I also developed some OCD tendencies. I am fortunate that my symptoms are manageable and have less effect on my life than I have seen in some of my former colleagues and also the lives of service men, woman and first responders such as police, fire etc. here in the UK. In my view PTSD is an injury and not an illness or disorder but I am sure that some clever people will disagree.

I have decided to challenge myself in 2017 and have entered a number of events so far. I would like to take these opportunities to get the message out there that mental injuries, such as PTSD affect a lot of people (not just the forces) and hopefully by raising money for Support in Mind Scotland I can help contribute to ensure the service provided by the councillors and volunteers can continue.

My chosen events are:

2017:

9 April - Kilomathon 13k (run)23 April - Edinburgh Great Run (run) 28 May - Edinburgh Half Marathon (run)3 June - Brewin Dolphin Ochil Hills Mini Sportive (cycle)10 Sept - Pedal for Scotland (cycle)17 Sept - Cumbernauld 10k (run)1 Oct - Great Scottish Run- Glasgow half marathon (run)5 Nov - Edinburgh Men's 10k2018:

1 Jan - New Years Day TriathlonRead more about my journey in my blog https://afriscot.wordpress.com

You can track my training and events through my profile on Strava - https://www.strava.com/athletes/marius_pelser



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