Gethin - Running Mind
I used to run back in my school days. I competed in cross country, 800m and the 1500m. I didn't really take it seriously.
After I left school I didn't really run. I kept myself active with inline hockey but that was mainly it.
I started running again about 3 years ago when I saw the Ystrad Runners club. I decided to turn up to on of their sessions and with the warm welcome and encouragement I started to attend more club nights and enjoyed my running. I entered some 10k events but that was it.
It wasn't until last year I started to run more as I had a mental break down to the point I had thoughts of taking my own life. While off work I received help from my doctor and from Mind the mental health charity. I found myself running a lot more because It helped with my head. I found I just switch off and go into my own little world.
One day I thought let's go for a 5k run. But I ended up running just under 13miles. I had never ran that distance before then. I also started posting on my Instagram (run_geth_run) more about my running and mental health issues.
After I got better I decided to run the Newport half marathon and I finished in 1hr 45mins. After that I decided to sign up to Cardiff half marathon and raise money for mind. I finished Cardiff in a time of 1hr 31mins and £700 raised!
This year I decided to run two marathons for mind. I ran Newport marathon my first ever marathon in a time of 4hrs 15mins. I'm still yet to run my second, Snowdonia marathon one of the hardest in the UK. I'll be running this on October 27th, with the aim of raising £1000 for mind.
I'm hoping to run an ultra next year. Then, in a few years with the help from my fellow Ystrad Runners family, I'd like to take on the Dragons Back race. Which is 5 ultra marathons over the Welsh mountains in 5 days. One of the toughest runs in the world