[Applause]
so sometimes the place you’re used to is
not the place even long and this is a
quote which is come to mean quite a lot
to me over the last year or so and
that’s for three very important reasons
the first of these reasons is because it
sparks a sense of adventure the idea
that there is a whole other world out
there of places to go and figures to
explore secondly it’s the gist it makes
me question myself and makes me think
you know what if this isn’t it what if
I’m missing out what is this world that
I’ve created of you know my flat – see
the ability to change that he took from
my phone and what if there are more
important things out there what if weif
I’m missing out on something and the
last of these reasons these three
reasons is because it’s from my favorite
Disney Channel that’s if you discover
Basile the Great Mouse Detective which
they also quite like but don’t film my
favorite Disney film is a thing called
queen of Khatami about a young girl
called Fiona who uses sport to try and
escape the sons of Uganda and it links
back to a situation I found myself in
last year whereas in the film here who
deduced fought to escape Uganda I
instead found myself in Uganda trying to
escape sport running to me was
everything it was it was my focus it was
my drive it was my motivation and
ultimately it was my life because
everything I did revolved around running
what time I would get up what time I
would eat how a little cover and all
these things that go through my head on
a daily basis
and in October 2015
I ended up crossing the finish line of
the accident lactam in a time of 2 hours
and 25 minutes I was the first British
finisher in that race by about 5 minutes
and I was 25th in a field of tens of
thousands my time was also in the top 50
of any British RAF and run out that year
and I crossed the finish line of that
map and and I was ecstatic I was jumping
for joy because I had achieved something
I honestly never thought I could but
three months later down the line and I
was anything but happy I heard Schloss
our motivation for running I didn’t want
to do it and and also it’s filled up
with my ex-girlfriend
and I just felt completely lost and I
think most people here can probably
relate to a feeling that you had waived
their just from loss that they don’t
know where to go or where to turn and
you almost feel so far away from the
person you want to be and you have no
idea how to get that person back and and
this was that moment for me I felt just
like that and I thought what do you do
when you feel like that you know do you
speak to your friends do speech if
family do you you know even seek
professional help and I should have done
all of those things but I didn’t because
I found it incredibly difficult to talk
about my feelings so I set decided to
fly out to Uganda to work in an
orphanage for a couple of weeks because
I thought that was give me a different
perspective of life and I’d go over
there when I come back and miraculously
I feel different about things but the
reality didn’t quite work out like that
you know I went over there to get away
from me – get away from running I mean I
ended up going to an orphanage it was
called the raised Uganda now Academy or
when I got there had actually been
abbreviated to the running chanukah so
I’ve gone all this way out to Uganda to
get away from running
the right hand and I think probably I am
very personally did have been a student
but then I was I was I was at this this
orphanage and I was supposed to be there
for two weeks but to the five days in
and I was sat there crying in the arms
of the lady who runs the orphanage and
I’m feeling worse than ever because I
couldn’t be realized you can go to one
of the most of the great places in the
world but but ultimately you’re still
there you know your thoughts and your
feelings and go left behind you know
they didn’t get stuck to customs and and
I was there and it was really awkward
you know this baby she was very nice but
I don’t think she probably realized
we’re playing half a round world to
decline her bedroom and it was it was
just surreal is it because it wasn’t
comfortable but but I I knew there’s
something needed to change you know I
needed to change it I flew back early
on that trip and I came back to England
and I thought this is probably the
hardest challenge I’m ever going to have
to face and it was the chance to pick up
my life and try and make it change
because I think we can all be guilty
sometimes as well hiding behind the
phrase you know that’s just the way I am
you know but I was thinking maybe it’s
not just the way I am
maybe it is in fact the way I have
chosen to be and what if I was able to
change that what if I was able to to
change the way that I was and to make
make you know make changes to my life
and through this time I’ve been in
Florida guy called Ben Smith who some of
you liked Heather but Ben run an
incredible 401 mountains in 401 days and
this is obviously an incredible physical
thing but what impressed me more about
Bernie was was just how he carry himself
you know the challenge wasn’t about it
wasn’t about him it was about his cause
which was actually believe me and he
clearly found something that he was
incredibly passionate about and he had
found something that was driving and I
love what Ben was doing I thought you
know I want to be like them I want to
use running to make a difference and I
was always also Akutan where I wanted
running back in my life because well it
has a really big impact both physically
for me but more mentally because that
ability to pound a pair of shoes and
just go and explore the world is
incredible I think there was something
quite simplistic there’s something quite
beautiful about that you can just go out
there and create your own world you can
turn left we can tell where you can go
wherever you want that you can just be
by yourself sometimes and that’s a
really really nice thing because for me
it helps to get you know to to tackle
things that go on in in one life to be
able to have that release that stress
release and and I thought I needed to
get back they needed to get it back the
right way to not be this fixation of
heart rate monitors on you know mileage
on all these are the factors that
running for me it used to be about so I
thought I need a challenge I was
thinking what could I do what could I do
so I didn’t really want to be like that
I didn’t want to run 402 marathons
because I found it utterly horrible I
thought maybe I could run across France
maybe I couldn’t run across Spain you
know I thought maybe I could run across
Europe and I stopped myself maybe might
actually go right across Europe about 30
countries in Europe it can’t be that
hard to get between them I was very very
long so I went to my computer and I
found the definition of how many
countries are in Europe and this was a
definition from the United Nations 44
different countries and only this are
some that are a little bit easier to get
rather than a bit obvious like Spain in
Italy and France and others on there
like Albanian Serbian Iceland and the
Vatican City
you know these were were going to be
very difficult to get between but also
to try and run them so all I had at this
moment
I literally have this I have this list
of 44 countries and I map but I have a
spark of something I had you know an
idea and I had something to focus on so
I spent the next few months just trying
to work out a way to dip
his countries because you know there’s
there’s no force but no one has ever
done this before so I didn’t know where
I needed to start or where I needed to
finish and I was getting to a stage
where I felt I’d crapped it but then you
know pain didn’t go at the same time or
busting her at seven times so I was
stuck again
I was lost again I didn’t know how to
get out of this problem but this time I
did the right thing I spoke to someone I
spoke to you my phone bill and Bill is
amazing amazingly enthusiastic person
and it is something that I knew if I
told about this he would be everything I
needed him to be even believe in me and
even want to help and when I told him he
was you know he was all that legal he
wanted to be part of this he he made me
believe that I could do this
so me and Bill we batted ideas back and
forth for the next few two months and we
came up with this and I still look at
this I’m still scared but this was the
plan
the plan was restarting Russia to work
our way get through Eastern Europe
through the Balkans the flying from
Poland to run the London Marathon to
then fly out to Portugal to work right
back through southern Europe to go up
through Scandinavia to fly to Iceland to
Florence Island to finish 44 days after
I had started that was a plan anyway but
it’s all gonna be done on public
transport and that was going to involve
22 trains 12 planes five buses for cars
and a ferry between Finland and Estonia
so I had this route but I also knew it
was a massive online because I didn’t
know you you know if if one thing went
wrong that’s it
as it or a plane okay so there was so
many variables so many unknowns well
they also started to ask for help from
other people I was speaking to my
brother speaking to my physio and and
everybody was speaking to wanted to be
involved they wanted to help and I’m
starting to realize that by surrounding
ourselves with positive and supportive
people it had a huge impact on your
well-being and you know I needed that
support at that moment and well as
previously when I had an issue that was
related to my mental health but I found
it very difficult to talk about I found
it really quite easy to ask for help
about something logistical or something
physical and I don’t again think I’m
alone in that I think many people
struggle to talk about their feelings
and to open up when it comes to mental
health and you know this is the cause
that I wanted my journey to be about I
wanted it to be about raising awareness
for mental health because I have many
friends and family who do so and you
still do stuff with a variety of
different mental health problems some
have tried to take her own life
let’s get by on a mixture of medication
and determination that I have so much
respectful and you know they often do
this when there is a lack of real
support out there to help them but in
terms of the challenge you know you
started for these people but I was
becoming acutely aware that it was
making me question my own mental health
more and more because I’m somebody who
finds it very easy to help others and
I’m always wanting to help others but I
found it very difficult to let others
help me and I’m somebody who’s always
very up and down and I couldn’t be on
top of the world one minute
today I want to hide away from society I
want to go to my room and not speak to
anybody and it’s very difficult being
full of that because you know you end up
alienating the people closest to you and
I find it very hard to talk to those
people explaining way that I feel
because how do you almost explain the
way you feel when you don’t understand
the way you feel sometimes I think
that’s why we all have mental health in
the same way that we have physical
health and you know I had surrounded
myself as well people that suffered far
greater than I did have mental health
problems and I think if I talked about
my problems that is belittling them but
but it isn’t a comparison I know there
is no comparison and there are many
pebbles will be announced at home and by
talking about things we hope ourselves
we help others and we help end the
stigma that still exists around mental
health and I now have this course you
know I have this mental health course I
have this support from some amazing
people friends and family of helping to
put together this work and give me the
belief that this is something that I can
actually do so I was ready to set off on
my journey and what was going to be the
most hardest and longest 40 foot days of
my life how I encountered lost luggage
on day one I had buses that didn’t go I
encountered in various sleep deprivation
I need got arrested in Greece I mean
many different things happen when I also
encountered some incredibly supportive
people that were meeting me in other
countries of helping to make this
journey happen there was a guy here in
the middle called Dimmie who met me
after
miles of my environment in the Ukraine
and he’d got me to that that finish line
and he didn’t speak a word of English
and that was the example of people that
were healthy I’m not so in the top left
you’ll see I’m sat in a bath of peace
and that could almost be a charger
charger itself but I went to try and
find ice in Ukraine because my legs were
hurting and I couldn’t find that a nice
so I thought it’d be a great idea to
find some frozen peas and I thought that
tomato room I opened a bag and I threw
four bags of frozen peas into a bath
Saturn after 15 minutes and plenty big
enough since asked why I actually
emptied the piece Wyatt into the bag and
it also meant that you know I had to
spend the next 10 minutes scooping out
piece from that bathtub so that the
hotel staff didn’t think you know that
was a very very strange man but that was
the example of how I was trying to you
know having to be flexible in adapting
to the situations but 44 days after I
started I made it to that finish line in
Dublin I had covered in nineteen hundred
miles on foot
which is about the diptych distance from
here to rain I had travelled 11,000
miles on various means of public
transport which is about the distance
from here to New Zealand but most
importantly I had raised money and
awareness for of course that really
matter and that cause was mental health
and it was all so much closer to finding
out you know where I belong as a person
and also about you know what mental
health means to me and going back to
that that quote from the start sometimes
the place that used to is not the place
in the north I used to look at that
quote and I used to think it may be you
know the place you belong being a very
physical thing you know it has to be
somewhere it has the
town or a city or a country but I don’t
think it does I think the place is below
me can mean just the world that you’ve
created around yourself you know your
values and attitudes you know you’re
compensating and what if we were able to
look at the place we belong and just see
if it is the place that we still want to
think and I just what I do you have that
simple thought and question and that
question is where
[Applause]
you
so sometimes the place you’re used to is
not the place even long and this is a
quote which is come to mean quite a lot
to me over the last year or so and
that’s for three very important reasons
the first of these reasons is because it
sparks a sense of adventure the idea
that there is a whole other world out
there of places to go and figures to
explore secondly it’s the gist it makes
me question myself and makes me think
you know what if this isn’t it what if
I’m missing out what is this world that
I’ve created of you know my flat – see
the ability to change that he took from
my phone and what if there are more
important things out there what if weif
I’m missing out on something and the
last of these reasons these three
reasons is because it’s from my favorite
Disney Channel that’s if you discover
Basile the Great Mouse Detective which
they also quite like but don’t film my
favorite Disney film is a thing called
queen of Khatami about a young girl
called Fiona who uses sport to try and
escape the sons of Uganda and it links
back to a situation I found myself in
last year whereas in the film here who
deduced fought to escape Uganda I
instead found myself in Uganda trying to
escape sport running to me was
everything it was it was my focus it was
my drive it was my motivation and
ultimately it was my life because
everything I did revolved around running
what time I would get up what time I
would eat how a little cover and all
these things that go through my head on
a daily basis
and in October 2015
I ended up crossing the finish line of
the accident lactam in a time of 2 hours
and 25 minutes I was the first British
finisher in that race by about 5 minutes
and I was 25th in a field of tens of
thousands my time was also in the top 50
of any British RAF and run out that year
and I crossed the finish line of that
map and and I was ecstatic I was jumping
for joy because I had achieved something
I honestly never thought I could but
three months later down the line and I
was anything but happy I heard Schloss
our motivation for running I didn’t want
to do it and and also it’s filled up
with my ex-girlfriend
and I just felt completely lost and I
think most people here can probably
relate to a feeling that you had waived
their just from loss that they don’t
know where to go or where to turn and
you almost feel so far away from the
person you want to be and you have no
idea how to get that person back and and
this was that moment for me I felt just
like that and I thought what do you do
when you feel like that you know do you
speak to your friends do speech if
family do you you know even seek
professional help and I should have done
all of those things but I didn’t because
I found it incredibly difficult to talk
about my feelings so I set decided to
fly out to Uganda to work in an
orphanage for a couple of weeks because
I thought that was give me a different
perspective of life and I’d go over
there when I come back and miraculously
I feel different about things but the
reality didn’t quite work out like that
you know I went over there to get away
from me – get away from running I mean I
ended up going to an orphanage it was
called the raised Uganda now Academy or
when I got there had actually been
abbreviated to the running chanukah so
I’ve gone all this way out to Uganda to
get away from running
the right hand and I think probably I am
very personally did have been a student
but then I was I was I was at this this
orphanage and I was supposed to be there
for two weeks but to the five days in
and I was sat there crying in the arms
of the lady who runs the orphanage and
I’m feeling worse than ever because I
couldn’t be realized you can go to one
of the most of the great places in the
world but but ultimately you’re still
there you know your thoughts and your
feelings and go left behind you know
they didn’t get stuck to customs and and
I was there and it was really awkward
you know this baby she was very nice but
I don’t think she probably realized
we’re playing half a round world to
decline her bedroom and it was it was
just surreal is it because it wasn’t
comfortable but but I I knew there’s
something needed to change you know I
needed to change it I flew back early
on that trip and I came back to England
and I thought this is probably the
hardest challenge I’m ever going to have
to face and it was the chance to pick up
my life and try and make it change
because I think we can all be guilty
sometimes as well hiding behind the
phrase you know that’s just the way I am
you know but I was thinking maybe it’s
not just the way I am
maybe it is in fact the way I have
chosen to be and what if I was able to
change that what if I was able to to
change the way that I was and to make
make you know make changes to my life
and through this time I’ve been in
Florida guy called Ben Smith who some of
you liked Heather but Ben run an
incredible 401 mountains in 401 days and
this is obviously an incredible physical
thing but what impressed me more about
Bernie was was just how he carry himself
you know the challenge wasn’t about it
wasn’t about him it was about his cause
which was actually believe me and he
clearly found something that he was
incredibly passionate about and he had
found something that was driving and I
love what Ben was doing I thought you
know I want to be like them I want to
use running to make a difference and I
was always also Akutan where I wanted
running back in my life because well it
has a really big impact both physically
for me but more mentally because that
ability to pound a pair of shoes and
just go and explore the world is
incredible I think there was something
quite simplistic there’s something quite
beautiful about that you can just go out
there and create your own world you can
turn left we can tell where you can go
wherever you want that you can just be
by yourself sometimes and that’s a
really really nice thing because for me
it helps to get you know to to tackle
things that go on in in one life to be
able to have that release that stress
release and and I thought I needed to
get back they needed to get it back the
right way to not be this fixation of
heart rate monitors on you know mileage
on all these are the factors that
running for me it used to be about so I
thought I need a challenge I was
thinking what could I do what could I do
so I didn’t really want to be like that
I didn’t want to run 402 marathons
because I found it utterly horrible I
thought maybe I could run across France
maybe I couldn’t run across Spain you
know I thought maybe I could run across
Europe and I stopped myself maybe might
actually go right across Europe about 30
countries in Europe it can’t be that
hard to get between them I was very very
long so I went to my computer and I
found the definition of how many
countries are in Europe and this was a
definition from the United Nations 44
different countries and only this are
some that are a little bit easier to get
rather than a bit obvious like Spain in
Italy and France and others on there
like Albanian Serbian Iceland and the
Vatican City
you know these were were going to be
very difficult to get between but also
to try and run them so all I had at this
moment
I literally have this I have this list
of 44 countries and I map but I have a
spark of something I had you know an
idea and I had something to focus on so
I spent the next few months just trying
to work out a way to dip
his countries because you know there’s
there’s no force but no one has ever
done this before so I didn’t know where
I needed to start or where I needed to
finish and I was getting to a stage
where I felt I’d crapped it but then you
know pain didn’t go at the same time or
busting her at seven times so I was
stuck again
I was lost again I didn’t know how to
get out of this problem but this time I
did the right thing I spoke to someone I
spoke to you my phone bill and Bill is
amazing amazingly enthusiastic person
and it is something that I knew if I
told about this he would be everything I
needed him to be even believe in me and
even want to help and when I told him he
was you know he was all that legal he
wanted to be part of this he he made me
believe that I could do this
so me and Bill we batted ideas back and
forth for the next few two months and we
came up with this and I still look at
this I’m still scared but this was the
plan
the plan was restarting Russia to work
our way get through Eastern Europe
through the Balkans the flying from
Poland to run the London Marathon to
then fly out to Portugal to work right
back through southern Europe to go up
through Scandinavia to fly to Iceland to
Florence Island to finish 44 days after
I had started that was a plan anyway but
it’s all gonna be done on public
transport and that was going to involve
22 trains 12 planes five buses for cars
and a ferry between Finland and Estonia
so I had this route but I also knew it
was a massive online because I didn’t
know you you know if if one thing went
wrong that’s it
as it or a plane okay so there was so
many variables so many unknowns well
they also started to ask for help from
other people I was speaking to my
brother speaking to my physio and and
everybody was speaking to wanted to be
involved they wanted to help and I’m
starting to realize that by surrounding
ourselves with positive and supportive
people it had a huge impact on your
well-being and you know I needed that
support at that moment and well as
previously when I had an issue that was
related to my mental health but I found
it very difficult to talk about I found
it really quite easy to ask for help
about something logistical or something
physical and I don’t again think I’m
alone in that I think many people
struggle to talk about their feelings
and to open up when it comes to mental
health and you know this is the cause
that I wanted my journey to be about I
wanted it to be about raising awareness
for mental health because I have many
friends and family who do so and you
still do stuff with a variety of
different mental health problems some
have tried to take her own life
let’s get by on a mixture of medication
and determination that I have so much
respectful and you know they often do
this when there is a lack of real
support out there to help them but in
terms of the challenge you know you
started for these people but I was
becoming acutely aware that it was
making me question my own mental health
more and more because I’m somebody who
finds it very easy to help others and
I’m always wanting to help others but I
found it very difficult to let others
help me and I’m somebody who’s always
very up and down and I couldn’t be on
top of the world one minute
today I want to hide away from society I
want to go to my room and not speak to
anybody and it’s very difficult being
full of that because you know you end up
alienating the people closest to you and
I find it very hard to talk to those
people explaining way that I feel
because how do you almost explain the
way you feel when you don’t understand
the way you feel sometimes I think
that’s why we all have mental health in
the same way that we have physical
health and you know I had surrounded
myself as well people that suffered far
greater than I did have mental health
problems and I think if I talked about
my problems that is belittling them but
but it isn’t a comparison I know there
is no comparison and there are many
pebbles will be announced at home and by
talking about things we hope ourselves
we help others and we help end the
stigma that still exists around mental
health and I now have this course you
know I have this mental health course I
have this support from some amazing
people friends and family of helping to
put together this work and give me the
belief that this is something that I can
actually do so I was ready to set off on
my journey and what was going to be the
most hardest and longest 40 foot days of
my life how I encountered lost luggage
on day one I had buses that didn’t go I
encountered in various sleep deprivation
I need got arrested in Greece I mean
many different things happen when I also
encountered some incredibly supportive
people that were meeting me in other
countries of helping to make this
journey happen there was a guy here in
the middle called Dimmie who met me
after
miles of my environment in the Ukraine
and he’d got me to that that finish line
and he didn’t speak a word of English
and that was the example of people that
were healthy I’m not so in the top left
you’ll see I’m sat in a bath of peace
and that could almost be a charger
charger itself but I went to try and
find ice in Ukraine because my legs were
hurting and I couldn’t find that a nice
so I thought it’d be a great idea to
find some frozen peas and I thought that
tomato room I opened a bag and I threw
four bags of frozen peas into a bath
Saturn after 15 minutes and plenty big
enough since asked why I actually
emptied the piece Wyatt into the bag and
it also meant that you know I had to
spend the next 10 minutes scooping out
piece from that bathtub so that the
hotel staff didn’t think you know that
was a very very strange man but that was
the example of how I was trying to you
know having to be flexible in adapting
to the situations but 44 days after I
started I made it to that finish line in
Dublin I had covered in nineteen hundred
miles on foot
which is about the diptych distance from
here to rain I had travelled 11,000
miles on various means of public
transport which is about the distance
from here to New Zealand but most
importantly I had raised money and
awareness for of course that really
matter and that cause was mental health
and it was all so much closer to finding
out you know where I belong as a person
and also about you know what mental
health means to me and going back to
that that quote from the start sometimes
the place that used to is not the place
in the north I used to look at that
quote and I used to think it may be you
know the place you belong being a very
physical thing you know it has to be
somewhere it has the
town or a city or a country but I don’t
think it does I think the place is below
me can mean just the world that you’ve
created around yourself you know your
values and attitudes you know you’re
compensating and what if we were able to
look at the place we belong and just see
if it is the place that we still want to
think and I just what I do you have that
simple thought and question and that
question is where
[Applause]
you
Please follow and like us: