Tunbridge Wells woman runs London Marathon to thank Samaritans

Tunbridge Wells woman runs London Marathon to thank Samaritans
SENSE OF WELLBEING: Han Wright runs a mental health and fitness blog

The 28 year old, who owns the creative content business Wellness & Wander Studio, is supporting the charity because she credits it for saving her life.

Han admitted the 26.2-mile challenge was out of her comfort zone, saying: “Endurance running just isn’t my cup of tea.

“I like to work on my strength and lift weights, so running is a real test for me.”

She added: “I was very nervous before starting but it was all going well.

“At mile 16 I started to feel blisters forming and my hips tightened up, so from then it was mind over matter to reach the finish line.”

Her mental health symptoms started when she was diagnosed with depression at 17 after suffering anxiety issues.

She said: “Samaritans means so much to me – they were there when I couldn’t face things any more.

“I had counselling but it didn’t really help, so I chose to ignore everything and masked it with university life, but that didn’t work out very well.”

‘All I wanted to do was be on my own, but Samaritans came into my mind, so I reached out to them’

Her anxiety increased with the social pressures of being a student. Then, one evening, she was feeling manic as events spiralled out of control.

She said: “All I wanted to do was be on my own, but Samaritans came into my mind, so I reached out to them.

“The woman on the end of the phone kept me safe and got an ambulance out to me.

“So I am eternally grateful to her and Samaritans for being there.

“The call was the catalyst for me to deal with my anxiety and depression. That’s why I’m proud to be wearing a Samaritans vest.”

Han now runs a mental health and fitness blog called Wellness and Wander, has a Diploma in Mindfulness, and has published an e-book called Mindfulness for Anxiety.

She was among 72 runners at the Marathon aiming to raise £140,000 for Samaritans.

They included Dave Lock, who ran his 21st consecutive race on behalf of the Samaritans on Sunday – wearing a giant green phone costume.

Since his debut in 2003, Dave has run 19 marathons in the suit, covering a distance of 553 miles.

To support Han Wright’s fundraising campaign visit justgiving.com/Hanna-Wright1

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