Bryony Gordon, journalist and founder of Mental Health Mates, explains why running for your head and your heart in the virtual Vitality London 10,000 is particularly important this year.

Mental Health Mates is a peer support group that helps people get out and walk, while finding and creating community groups. The aim is for the groups to not only help their members but also the group leaders, by showing them what they’re capable of. Mental Health Mates believes finding power over your experience allows you to take back some control over the stuff in your head.

Founder Bryony explains: “I set up Mental Health Mates when I was really suffering with my own mental health. My obsessive-compulsive disorder was terrible. I was depressed and in the grip of alcoholism. I knew that there were other people out there like me, I just didn’t know how to meet them.

“So, I created this peer support group that allows people to walk and talk together, without fear or judgement, and connect with each other. I am incredibly proud of the extraordinary community that it has become today, and I only hope that we continue to grow, thrive and reach as many people needing this sort of help as possible.”

Mental Health Mates is excited to be partnering with the Vitality London 10,000 to promote Celebrate You. After the huge success of the Celebrate You campaign in 2019, which encouraged women to celebrate body positivity and run in their underwear with Bryony and Mental Health Mates Ambassador Jada Sezer, this year’s Celebrate You campaign focuses on running for your head and your heart as a way of embracing the mental health benefits that regular exercise delivers. This is especially important during these unprecedented and difficult times, where physical activity for mental health has been crucial for many of us. It’s all about the gains and not the losses!

Mental Health Mates is encouraging everyone to sign up to run, jog or walk the first-ever virtual Vitality London 10,000 as a way of getting active. It aims to inspire and support all first-time entrants, novice runners and regular non-competitive runners to run their first 10K from home, in what is the first virtual event Mental Health Mates has ever taken part in. The focus of the event also ties in with October’s World Mental Health Day, which has a theme this year of Mental Health For All.

If you would like to get involved with Mental Health Mates and create a walk of your own in your local community, or if you would just like to find a walk to join near you, please email hello@mentalhealthmates.co.uk or visit mentalhealthmates.co.uk