Each day, millions of people around the world put on their trainers and try to deal with their personal demons and life challenges by going for a run. And, increasingly, they do it knowing that they are not alone: a growing and often virtual community is right there running alongside them. We are all, in some sense, running for our lives.
Rachel Ann Cullen’s first book, Running for My Life, described her own marathon journey through depression, bipolar disorder and body dysmorphia, and her revelatory discovery that running could transform her physical and mental wellbeing.
Since hearing from people who had read about her experiences, Rachel wanted to tell some stories of other runners from all around the world – ordinary people living with mental health struggles, dealing with grief, cancer and other unavoidable life events who have relied on running to get them through their worst days and to keep going.
Running for Our Lives shares moving accounts of hope and resilience; it demonstrates the power of running to help us all overcome adversity, and is a lesson for us all in learning not only how to survive life’s challenges, but to thrive.
I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with running over the years. Gone through phases of running regularly and not running at all. Recently I had to stop for a while due to an injury, and starting up again was harder than I thought. But I knew that if I could take it slow and steady, I’d get there again. Running, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to do it, does have that ability to change the way you think.
I’ve not read Rachel Ann Cullen’s first book, Running for My Life, but this book follows up on that. Readers were reaching out to Rachel to talk about their own stories of how running helped them get through all sorts of issues, from the unfathomable grief of losing a child, through cancer diagnoses and mental health issues. Be warned, you might need some tissues at some of the stories being offered up here. They’re poignant and at times heartbreaking, but ultimately demonstrating how running has a certain power to help us get through life.
Cullen is a fantastic host, the stories invariably inspiring, if harrowing in places. Well worth checking out.
You can pick up a signed copy of Rachel Ann Cullen’s book from the publisher’s website here
Running For Our Lives by Rachel Ann Cullen is published by Vertebrate Publishing and is out now. Huge thanks to the publisher for the advance copy to review.
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