Esther's Tolkien run                                                                                                23 September 2015

I work in Mental Health and I want to raise funds for Mental Health Research UK because "pull yourself together" REALLY doesn't cut it. Thanks for dropping in to have a look.

I can't yet run very far (10k is my limit at the time of writing this). I'm going to try - if it wasn't hard, it wouldn't count quite so much. So I've signed up to run/jog/walk 26.5 miles or as much of it as I can do before I fall over, next September, at the Tolkien Run (http://www.saxon-shore.com/tolkien_run/). Until then, I'll run shorter races and other events to work up to the distance, and collect some more miles. 


I'm a clinical psychologist working in adult mental health. Mental illness is not a cause that inspires an "awh!' response, it's subject to stigma, and it has a major impact on people's lives, and the lives of those around them. The more we know about the root causes, and the kinds of interventions that can make a difference to somebody's quality of life, their ability to live better in the presence of symptoms and their chance to be who they want to be, the better.

When faced with signs of mental illness, many people are afraid, or feel helpless, or don't know what to say. A grant for one doctoral student's research buys a lot of thinking and creativity and information at great value: I've done psychology research over two doctorates, sat my behind flat in the process and know there is a lot still to find out. 












"I completed my marathon for you on Wednesday 23rd September, 26.95 miles in 6 hours and 20 minutes (you can tell I took regular breaks for cake!). I’ll keep my fundraising link going for another good while, will let you know if I come up with any other grand plan."

Well done to Esther on completing the marathon, and for your continuous fund raising, a brilliant effort