I run very very slowly. I started about 15 years ago when I realized it was a great way to get my brain to chatter to itself and work through any stress. Pounding around tracks (normally with a dog or two) became a very good way to feel better.

2023 wasn’t a good year for me. My marriage broke down. I had to move out of and sell the home I had poured a decade of love into. A nasty, prolonged bout of gaslighting and psychological abuse led me to believe that I was crazy, an awful human. I was alienated from my community, and convinced they knew what a bad person I was. I was positive I deserved all the misfortune that was coming my way, that I had somehow earned it. I had embarrassed myself and my family. Everything I had built over fifteen years suddenly didn’t exist anymore – I had failed at everything. The only thing I felt I had that had any meaning was my dog. I didn’t know what to do and my mental health broke down completely.

Then I did something I had never done before. I asked for help. I asked loudly. I asked because I knew it was the only thing that I could do to keep my head above water. I rang my mum at 2am screaming and bawling my eyes out like a child – she answered every time, pretended she was awake already. My sister-in-law and brother let me stay in their spare room, so I didn’t have to “move back to my parents’”, listened while I espoused theories of depression as a cause of other people’s bad behaviour. I rang my friends again and again, circling over old ground. They picked up, they listened again and again. People cast me in plays, knowing I might not make it through, trusting I could. I had panic attacks; people held my hand, sent me care packages, told me it would be ok, even though I was convinced it wouldn’t be. I asked for help from professionals. Started therapy, took anti-depressants. Things I would never ever have done before. Things I had been conditioned to believe were only for the weak.

Over an incredibly short amount of time, my family and friends pulled me out of the pits of depression and helped me free myself. I couldn’t have done it without them. I made the choice to move to Cornwall – somewhere I had always felt safe and at home, somewhere I had always wanted to move. Joined a Cross-Fit gym, became annoyingly obsessive about it. Started running again around the cliff paths that I had always loved.

I know how lucky I was. I had the support of some of the most brilliant people and everybody stood up. Cornwall Mind can be that to other people who aren’t as lucky as I am. They believe no-one should have to face a mental health problem alone. Each year the demand for their services increases as more people seek support for their mental health. Their services promote people’s recovery and empower them to take control of their mental health and wellbeing, building resilience and improving quality of life. They deliver a wide range of activities and projects including: Wellbeing Programmes, 121 Outreach Support and Peer Led Support Groups.

I’m really grateful that I get the chance to run for this amazing charity. Please help me help them to raise as much money as possible.