Running a Marathon

On September 24th 2023 myself and two of my colleagues are taking on the Berlin Marathon. For me this will be my second marathon, having completed London Marathon last year. You may be asking yourself why? One big drive for us this year is to raise money for the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre in Manchester – they are doing fantastic research work dedicated to discovering and developing new treatments and implementing optimal care pathways that provide better outcomes and transform the lives of patients living with neurological diseases. As such a cause very close to our hearts. By supporting research we are supporting future advances in treating and supporting neurological diseases. Our just-giving page link is: https://www.justgiving.com/team/manchesterneurosurgeons

Any support is greatly appreciated!

But why a marathon? I have found that having a sporting goal to which I am held accountable, and a tough one, keeps me on track with regular and progressive exercise in a way that simply didn’t happen without that. It has taught me to be more in tune with my body – when I need to rest, stretch, eat, hit a hard target or go easy. Through chasing sporting challenges I have become connected to a community of like-minded people, chasing their own goals, which again helps me keep on track with my goals and keeps me dreaming of what is there to explore next. I have learned that the time is there where initially it seemed impossible – it’s all about planning and training smartly. It has taught me more than ever to look after my body – every day our bodies help us do amazing things and we have to give them the fuel and recovery to keep doing that day in and day out. All in its a journey that is about far more than simply running.

Running may not be your interest, but my advice is to find sporting activities that keep your body and mind active, find goals within those to keep you accountable and motivate you to show up even when the day or week has been busy. Link into a community of like-minded people and plan your week to ensure that you can incorporate those activities regularly into your life, alongside taking the time to eat and rest well. Tap into support in the areas where you are struggling. To support me I work with a coach Philip Hatzis from Tri Training Harder (https://tritrainingharder.com) who helps me train smartly with limited time, a physiotherapist Mark Boundy from Rebound Physiotherapy (https://rebound-physio.co.uk) who helps keep me injury free and intermittent nutritional support from a sports nutritionist Helen Money (https://www.helenmoneynutrition.com). It takes a team!

I know first-hand how much better I feel physically and mentally regularly exercising, being part of a community and working towards sporting goals, with all that then comes with that too in terms of rest, eating well etc…. I also know how compelling the evidence is for the physical and mental health benefits of this approach. Movement is medicine!