Mind over matter

‘I WAS always sporty while I was growing up and I did swim a lot, but I stopped when I was around 15. At university I did have a break from swimming but I decided to play water polo after Will suggested we give it a go socially. I certainly never ran!’

Lorna admits that she has always experienced brushes with anxiety and depression and it is only now that she feels able to speak out.

‘I have always experienced social anxiety and at times I find it difficult to socialise, especially with people I don’t know or when I am put out of my comfort zone. Running and swimming has always been a great way for me to handle my mental health and wellbeing. Physical exercise certainly helps you release endorphins and gives you such a better, more positive outlook. I know I feel better when I swim and run.’

She says that running has proved the perfect antidote to stress.

‘It has been brilliant for me and it is something that anyone can do, no matter how old you are. My partner Will is the person who also got me into running and who has encouraged me to push my boundaries.’

Lorna graduated from Leeds University with a business degree then went on to complete a master’s in human resources. She now works as a HR manager at Cambridge University, managing everything staff related, from appointing professors to looking after the wellbeing of support staff. It’s a demanding role but one she enjoys.

‘We decided when we left university and moved to Cambridge that we would join a running club to meet new people. It was a great way for me to get back into fitness too. Will encouraged me to enter running events and I started with 5km runs and then he started to get me out of my comfort zone by introducing me to ultra runs. We have competed in the Guernsey Ultra marathon three times, which is a 36-mile course, and I have also undertaken a 56-mile Ultra Run in the UK, as well as various marathons in Brighton and Essex.’

Lorna says that she realised early on that running was good for her mental health.

‘Over the years I have pushed myself to do more as I know it has really helped me with managing stress and anxiety. We have come to Guernsey to run quite frequently and I always do the Park Run at Pembroke too. It is so amazing you can walk or run and it’s free. If you don’t want to run, you can always volunteer – there is a real feeling of community too.’

She also started becoming much more serious about swimming, again finding it an antidote to stress.

‘It’s not just the feeling of physically exercising your body, you just feel so much better mentally and it helps me feel less anxious as I do find it hard to socialise with people I don’t know.’

Lorna soon took on increasingly tough swimming challenges, again to help overcome anxiety and release those all-important natural endorphins.

‘I did a 14km Thames swim last year and I have also completed the Great East Swim, which is a 10km lake event. We swim for fun too as we enjoy swimming in the outdoors, but then Will came up with the idea of us swimming the Channel – something that had never been on my radar!

‘I didn’t think I would ever be capable of doing it but he enjoys coming up with things for us to work towards, challenging both of us. So, while my immediate thought was I couldn’t do it, I eventually thought, “why not?”

‘You have to apply through the Channel Swimming Federation, who arrange a boat to accompany you on the swim. You do have to do a qualifying swim to prove you can do it and this takes part in Dover through the Dover Channel Training Swimming Club. They meet every weekend in the summer months and they are such a supportive community – people who are interested in swimming the Channel, some who have actually swum it, and others who want to help you to. They are a lovely bunch of people and we enjoyed spending time with them in the run-up to our swim.’

The couple did their qualifying swim, which entailed two hours of swimming without a wet suit in sea water which was below 16 degrees.

‘We got signed off to swim the Channel in a relay which meant that we would do an hour in the water and an hour in the support boat while the other person swims.’

Lorna says that on the day the real challenge was to keep warm and hydrated and fed between the sessions.

‘It was a real challenging day as the weather was not great and it was borderline as to whether we would be allowed to set off. You are given a small window during a certain week, and unfortunately our window began at 10 at night due to the tide and the weather conditions.’

She recalls that the best bit about the night swim was swimming into the sunrise.

‘It was an amazing experience, though it was very rough and there were lots of jellyfish in the sea all around us. You are allowed a support crew so I had my sister Sophie and Will’s brother and another friend were on the boat with us. It was great to share this with them.

‘The group all felt seasick as it was so rough during the crossing, and at times when we were swimming we didn’t think we were making any progress. We hadn’t set ourselves a goal but we were delighted with our time. Will was swimming the last leg but it was agreed that I would be able to go into the water and complete the swim with him. At 11am we swam to the beach and had to stand up and wave back at the boat to show that we had landed.’

Lorna says she felt so happy and relieved to have achieved the swim and grateful to have gotten through the experience.

‘It is such an amazing thing to have done and I will always be glad that I did it. It left me feeling happy and strong and determined to take on more challenges, and maybe use them to be more open about my own mental health and wellbeing. Talking like this has been a huge thing for me so I hope this helps others to be more open too.

‘As for the future, well watch this space as I know there will be more challenges along the way.’

• To find out more about Guernsey Parkrun, visit: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/guernsey/

THE FUN RUN...

The 2019 Fun Run will take place at the KGV Playing Fields on Sunday 8 September. You can register online or contact Laurel Le Tocq at the Mind Centre for more information – email Laurel.letocq@guernseymind.org.gg