Me and My Story
About Me
If you happen to be one of the few who has taken the time to read my blogs so far but don't know who I am, then I guess it's time to provide a bit about me.
Currently back residing in Yorkshire, I am a fitness enthusiast and bit of an amateur adventurer. I try to keep active as much as possible, love all things food, and hope to see as much of the world we live in as possible.
At a younger age in-between my other sporting hobbies and drinking antics that came with the university and seasonnaire lifestyle, I dabbled a little in shorter runs (5-10km). With age, maturity and injuries began to take their toll and work had me based in many locations. For a while I had wanted to do a half marathon, and go on to do a full marathon. This came to fruition in 2018 when I signed myself up to the Sahara Challenge organised by Ultra Challenge. This comprised of two marathons in the Sahara Desert, with temperatures around 42’c. No messing about from my point of view! 🌵
Prior to this I was provided a free place on one of their other events as preparation. I opted for a 50km event along the Thames path. Save to say I jumped straight into an ultra before doing my first marathon! I haven’t looked back since, taking part in multiple ultra’s throughout the UK, as well as a 250km run last year in the Wadi Rum Desert 🏜️
Why I Do These Events
Mainly for the challenge.
I enjoy seeing what we are all capable of both physically and mentally 🧠🫁🦵
These past few years has seen me taking on greater challenges to see how my body can handle the physical demands. Add to that to set myself a mental hurdle to overcome as well. This part demands mental toughness and prowess, and provides a different sort of challenge to contend with.
At this moment of time I have very little commitments. Running and taking part in these events provides a release for me. It makes me feel more worthy, that I am capable of achieving success in some part of my life.
My Eating Disorder
Last year was a breakout year for me in which I overcame my biggest hurdle and most daunting challenge- publicly coming out to and facing the fact that I have an eating disorder.
Anyone who faces this or any other mental illness will know it is an incredibly difficult topic to open up about and share with others. Especially when food, health and nutrition plays such an important part in my own life.
Over a number of years I have experienced more side effects which have hindered my sporting performance and personal life. These range from functional digestive disorder, sleep disruption, low energy availability, depressed immune system, muscular fasciculations... the list goes on. My nervous system is permanently on high alert, making it incredibly difficult to emotionally regulate and evaluate the real issues at play. Becoming underweight had never been intentional and goes unnoticed until others start speaking up about it around you. Definitely not optimal for someone who is part of the endurance world!
Relative Energy Deficiency in sport (REDs) can be both intentional and unintentional, but both lead to dysfunctional behaviours when placed in the right psychological space. Unfortunately there are far too many triggers in todays society. Prejudices, judgements and behaviours today make it harder for us to seek the help that is needed - in particular in men where it can be viewed as not being ‘masculine’ to speak about our issues, and within sportspeople where REDS is a serious issue and is more commonplace than one may think. Our home and sporting environment, our cultures, social media, and past and current experiences, our genetic susceptibility, our personality, the list is endless but all have the same thing I common- a breeding ground for eating disorders to grow.
Many may be surprised that I have been battling against this as I am a total foodie! But eating disorders don't just represent how someone feels about food, these relationships are never straightforward and everyone's is complex and unique.
A study in 2016 showed a 20% higher prevalence of eating disorders in athletes compared to the general population - with numbers as high as 73%. That figure alone is scary and I can only imagine it is higher now.
I will be honest in saying that it has been an incredibly lonely experience, one that saw me admitted to A&E last year due to dangerously low potassium levels and threw my Jordan trip into jeopardy. The scary part was that I still felt my normal self. A watershed moment in which I realised at that I cannot stop ignoring the red flags being waved in front of me and start taking the warning signs seriously. If I am unable to look after myself and nourish my body with what it requires, then my body will simply be unable to serve me. Saying and doing are two different things however.
My Fundraising Cause
And so this is the reason why I wish to raise funds for Talk-ED, an eating disorders charity to provide support for those who are facing this battle. An eating disorder isn’t about one’s relationship with food but rather a form of communication. A way to express one’s psychological suffering. I want to play a part in changing this and help those express themselves in the correct way.
Like many others, I want to be a version of me that does good and to put others first. I may not have the skillset to directly help people, but I, like anyone else, still have the power and ability to influence people’s lives through other means.
This year is seeing me attempt to raise £10k for Talk-ED. Separately I hope to raise £1.5k for The TRIBE Freedom Foundation - a charity who's mission is to fight modern slavery and end human trafficking 🎗️
The common theme is I wish to help people and ultimately save lives. I want to focus on a cause that is close to me but not neglect other important causes that also affect others.
I will continue to push into the unknown, into challenges that continue to test my physical and mental adversity and expose myself to the discomforts so that I can learn to overcome them. I will be tackling at least one ultra event each month throughout 2023 and run a total of 1200km
If you wish to contribute to my cause, you can donate via my JustGiving Page 👇:
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