Kate turns 80 this year. Together with her sister Hilary and their friend Ros, who are both in their 80s, they have formed a  highly personal running group called The Old Crones. A lifetime of friendship and around 40 years of shared running experience are membership requirements.   The Old Crones  are a very exclusive group indeed.  Through their group,  The Old Crones share their runs, provide support and encouragement and meet up at events when they can. They now live hundreds of miles apart, but keep in touch through their exclusive What's App group of three. &nb ..read more

  My guest today on Why Run? is Hasan, who works in finance - a career renowned for its high pressure and stressful lifestyle. In 2010, Hasan quit a job after months of long hours, little managerial support and mounting corporate demands . At the time, he had no other job to go to, but knew that 'a line had been crossed' and that he needed to leave work if he was to protect his mental health. In 2017, a friend Hasan hadn't seen for many years commented that he had "ballooned", as a result of his lifestyle. At the time, Hasan said that the comment 'cut him to the heart', but it was the w ..read more

Mark White founder of  Run Grateful - a movement that links gratitude with movement.  On this episode, Mark candidly shares his story  of how he went into rehab for drug and alcohol dependency at  the shockingly young age of 18. At the time, he didn’t want to go, but once there, rehab gave Mark the opportunity to reboot his life: to get clean; to make new friends; and to learn about the importance of gratitude.   Mark started running more than ten years ago and, over the years, has consistently used  running as an opportunity to meditate about gratitude. Like me ..read more

In her 30s, Annie Simpson experienced  birth and loss - both of which have very much influenced how she approaches life today. Desperate for a baby, Annie  was told  by her consultant in her mid-30s that the only treatment for her fibroids was a hysterectomy. Annie loved children, had always dreamt of becoming a mother, and the thought of infertility was devastating. "Every time someone got pregnant, I'd get tearful and think 'why not me?' 'what have I done?' and it got to the point where I just felt my body was letting me down." A second medical opinion gave Annie hope ..read more

At the end of 2021,  life took a dramatic turn for Jen and her family when her five-year-old  son Eashan started to lose his sight. After extensive tests and an emergency scan, Eashan was diagnosed with a chromozone disorder - neurofibromatosis  or NF-1, which will make him susceptible to internal tumours growing within his nervous system for the rest of his life.  The reason Eashan was losing his sight was because he had a tumour on his optic nerve.  For 18 months,  Eashan is having regular chemotherapy to reduce the tumour. Coming to terms with Eashan's diagnosi ..read more

Jane Dennison is the founder of a running club for beginners in Manchester called the Mile Shy Club. She is passionately committed to helping others to discover the benefits of running and walking - because running has been such a vital part in her own mental health journey.  When Jane was younger, she experienced profound poverty, loneliness and depression. As a teenager, she was homeless and lived on and off the streets for several years before being  hospitalised at 18 due to mental overload and exhaustion. Jane is diagnosed with gerneralised anxiety which, today, still impacts on ..read more

 Tony started running in his mid-40s to improve his physical health and fitness...only to discover he was rather good at it. Having always been competitive, he was soon entering events and went on to complete marathons in under three and a half hours, as well as numerous ultra events.   Five years ago though, Tony experienced a sharp pain in his groin and on investigation, was told that he had terminal prostate cancer and was given two years to live, as the cancer had spread to his spine, neck and skull.  Such profound and devastating news changes life forever. Learning to ..read more

Seven years ago, Denise adopted a three-year-old little boy. Like all children who are placed for adoption, her son had been through traumatic early life experiences. One of the impacts of this, is that he finds it difficult to handle change. So when lockdown was announced two years ago, it had a hugely negative impact upon him.     For a single adoptive parent like Denise, the combination of lockdown, home schooling and home working was challenging enough. But in addition to this, Denise was going through the menopause, which made her feel as though she was in an emotional fog.  ..read more

When Graham was in the army 20 years ago, he used to enjoy a game of poker with friends. Gradually though, over the years, his gambling increased, and five years ago, it had taken him to a very dark place.  By 2017, online poker and fruit machines led to debts of around £40,000 on credit cards that he was unable to pay and his marriage was on the rocks. He couldn’t see a way forward with life and seriously considered suicide to escape the constant demands and lies.  Through counselling, Graham learnt a lot about himself – and he has now turned his determination never to quit from ga ..read more

The National Running Show's CEO Mike Seaman talks to  host Diane Church for this special bonus episode of Why Run? Mike plays many sports, but he says it's running that provides him with the headspace he needs to manage his role at Raccoon Events, which organises ten major international events for outdoor activities each year. Mike talks about how he can have a tendency to "overthink" his work  and how running helps him to slow his thoughts and clear his mind. Mike loves trail running, in particular, and likes to take part in all events from ultras to 5Ks. In the interview, Mike l ..read more