By day I work at Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council with Kent businesses to support them and their staff to be more productive and have a fulfilling and rewarding time at work – ultimately by empowering employers and employees to be more autonomous around their wellbeing in the workplace. Good mental health and wellbeing has always been paramount in ensuring a rich and holistic approach to taking responsibility for our own health and wellbeing.

There is no health without mental health.

1 in 4 of us will suffer with a mental health problem in our lives be it depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), grief or loneliness through to more complex and long-term disorders.

The evidence is clear; getting out, talking with friends and improving your physical activity to achieve your goals no matter how small can be the beginning of a whole new you! You will feel all the better for it… but it is making those first big steps to mentally prepare yourself and take that initial leap (or tip-toe) out of the door!

Thereby recognising this huge barrier and breaking it down for people to allowing them to freedom to enjoy running at any level. We are here to support you through these challenges by simply boosting your physical activity bit by bit via Couch to 5K and hopefully loving the journey!

We are a very friendly and diverse group of runners of all abilities – we can’t wait to welcome you to Ashford Run Together part of the England Athletics #RunandTalk campaign. The groups is run by trained volunteers and is completely free to join.

For more information about Mental Health support in Kent please visit Live it Well

www.liveitwell.org.uk or the new Release the Pressure service where you can speak directly to a trained counsellor on 0800 107 0160.

www.kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health/release-the-pressure

The Shaw Trust as part of Ashford CCG offer Mental Health support services

https://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/en-GB/Services/Health-and-Wellbeing

Mind, has some great resources to help you as part of the Heads Together Campaign.

https://www.headstogether.org.uk/partner/mind/

Looking forward to seeing you soon!