Mind Your Head run
AROUND 600 runners and walkers took part in mental health charity Mind Your Head’s annual fun run at Cunningsburgh on Sunday afternoon.
The charity’s vice chairwoman Shona Manson said she was thrilled with how the event, designed to raise both funds and awareness of mental health issues, had gone.
It is the ninth time that the fun run has been staged and the second since the route was shifted from Spiggie to Cunningsburgh.
Those taking part were able to limber up courtesy of a “jazzercise” session prior to the main 5km and 10km events, while insurance firm T L Dallas provided white and blue t-shirts for participants to wear.
“The numbers seem to have settled around the 600 mark, and that’s a really good average,” Manson said.
“There was the usual mixture of what I would call ‘real’ runners, lots of families, pushchairs, dogs, and a real family vibe. Getting bairns thinking very early on about mental health – I think that’s really important.
“We love Spiggie, but logistically with parking and how the routes work together, it’s much better organisationally [at Cunningsburgh].
“While the NHS is there to provide services, it’s really important that we, as communities, think about what we can do to support each other, and reduce the stigma because that does have a major impact on individuals who are suffering with their mental health.”
After the race was run, those taking part were able to gather and have a “blether” about mental health over a cup of tea.
In addition to planning next year’s 10th anniversary event, Mind Your Head is working towards launching a new support service for young people and adults suffering from conditions including stress, anxiety and depression.
Manson said: “We have, since we started, been very much education and awareness-raising, doing work with young folk, adults, but we are looking into low level support for folk – not counselling as such, but guided self-help and one-to-one support for somebody to speak to.”
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Mind Your Head employee Jacqui Clark said it was clear that other local services – within both the NHS and voluntary sector – were stretched. The intention is to intervene early before people’s mental health conditions worsen.
“We’re not launching a replacement for existing NHS services,” she said. “We’re looking at what’s going to work alongside that.
“If you, for example, have stress or depression or anxiety, we would be looking at working with folk at that kind of lower levels in order to reduce the pressure on services that are for people that are perhaps more ill.”
- You can donate to Mind Your Head either by visiting its website at www.mindyourhead.org.uk or by texting MYHS10 and the amount (e.g. £5) to 70070.
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