Running and the mind

This post features Be More You, a running platform founded by Sha Hussain, award winning wellbeing consultant, mindset, run coach and friend. In today’s post we will discuss the benefits of running in relation to mental health. 

I don’t know about you but during lockdown our time outdoors was limited, we felt rushed to get a run in and give ourselves tasks or work to do at home. This was what pushed me through those tough 2 years of the pandemic, routine and running. I started running when I was 5 and then with school, I forgot about it therefore I had some work to do and why not start in lockdown. Week on week I gave myself goals, couch to 5k with a friend, to then progressions, to then 10ks, to then half marathons. Running takes time, these 2 years were crucial to leave lockdown feeling strong and ready to race. Just know you aren’t the only one who may find running a struggle at first but trust me it gets easier! Our minds factor in as the most important mechanism behind pushing ourselves, it is so easy to give up or say no, we all can hit those PBs if we put our minds to it. 

So without further ado, let’s delve into the conversation with Be More You. 

When did you start Be More You and what’s the goal of this network? It was around World Mental Health Day in 2018. I had just been through a lived experience of managing my mental health, where I struggled with stress, anxiety and depression for two years, and had kept it hidden from family and friends. I finally decided to share my predicament after an enlightening business encounter with a breathing coach, and this led me to sharing my story to friends in the running community - I felt better for it and it helped to ease  my struggles - this led to myself and five friends launching the Be More You Community. Our goal is to raise awareness and normalise the conversation around mental health globally by hosting online check-ins, workshops, shakeout runs, and sharing knowledge and resources on self-help. 

I see you repost athletic related content on Instagram stories, does this encourage you to go the extra mile? Do you feel like it inspires your followers to pursue their running goals? We like to share what is going on in the running community, from both an amateur and professional perspective to give our followers the inspiration and motivation to go after their goals. We also post and repost self-help material, sharing knowledge to empower our followers to take better care of their mental and physical wellbeing.

What’s the biggest challenge you've faced? How did you solve this? Did running help you get through any obstacles? My biggest challenge was struggling with my mental health between 2016-2018, which was when I started a new business in the wellbeing sector - running helped me to initially escape from my problems, but eventually it became a way for me to troubleshoot my issues by thinking them through and acknowledging what I was going through, ultimately leading me to seek the support I required to help me overcome my difficulties. 

As a mental health organisation, how have people been able to approach you? Have you seen change within your clients? We are a mental health community, and we create safe spaces for runners to come and share what they are going through in a non-judgemental environment. Providing them with the tools and resources they need to help them take better care of themselves and others around them. We post on social media and share our events with running communities around the world, inviting them and their members to attend our sessions and also to help us spread awareness. Yes, we have seen a change in our members, they have told us how attending our sessions has made a positive difference to their outlook on life and their mental wellbeing, as well as creating new friendships and giving them a sense of belonging. Our members have also helped us to promote our events and community via social media and word of mouth.

The running space is growing significantly with the increase in numbers applying for places in the major marathons such as London, Berlin and Chicago. Do you think you get more runners seeking advice during training season or all year round? Why is that? I have never really looked at this aspect, but now that you mention it - I feel that we get a balance of enquiries throughout the year, but rather than more interest on advice around races, it is usually around this time of year when we get more traction. When the nights draw in earlier, the temperature starts to drop and Xmas is on the horizon, which can be a lonely time for many runners. Therefore , joining our community can give runners a sense of connection and belonging. 

In relation to Strava, would you say this can have a positive or negative impact on a runners mindset? Is the competitive space encouraging or pressurising? I feel it can be positive in the sense that you are motivated by what your friends and network are doing, but equally it can become somewhat negative, if you start comparing yourself to others or compete with them to rack up the same/more mileage or keep to a certain pace for your runs. My advice is that you should do you, as comparison is the thief of joy. 

What will we see next from Be More You? We are aiming to launch our Monday night check-in sessions on Zoom again in January. Keep an eye on our socials for details soon!

We’re coming to the end of the conversation so here are some quick running related questions for Sha:

Kms or Mi? Kms

Shorter Distance or Longer Distances? Longer

Tempo Runs or Long Recovery Runs? Both are equally as important

Berlin or Boston? Boston, as it is the original marathon and has an amazing atmosphere - it is the mecca of running.

Road or Track? Road for long easy runs and track for speed. 🙂

Tea or Coffee? Tea

Summer or Winter? Summer 

Nike or Adidas? Adidas, for as far back as I can remember

Favourite Current Running Shoe? Adidas Pro 3

That’s all we have for now from Be More You, we will get Sha back again for some more running chat. We hope this answered some of those questions you may have. Thank you for reading and see you next Monday for a recipe article  :)