Sporting Heads - Exploring the impact of Sport and Exercise on Mental Health

I have competed in more than 60 marathons and ultra-marathons, but now running is my way of coping with the enormous stress of dealing with chronic illness in a loved one

My Dad was my biggest supporter. When he lost his battle with cancer, school rugby and fitness training became even more important to me

One of the most difficult parts of becoming a parent was the loss of identity and the loss of self - I was in a rut, so I drank. Swimming has given me something else.

We spoke to Jess, founder of RunTalkRun, about the community running group and her own struggles with bulimia, anxiety and depression

I experienced my first panic attack in my twenties leading to issues with alcohol and depression. Now I am a fitness instructor using exercise to cope with my mental health battles.

Despite international success in business, Matt Miller struggled to find true happiness until he transformed his mind and body through endurance running

After losing my dad to cancer, I turned to open water swimming to give me the time to grieve in a positive environment

Grieving, homeless and with a cocktail of mental health diagnoses I became aggressive, retreated from society and lost a number of friends. In recovery I turned to sport.

Seven years ago my anxiety was off the scale and suicidal thoughts were coming regularly. Now I have rediscovered exercise and the positive effects have been immense

Some of my triathlon training is done with a very close group of friends, who know I’ve been ill, so they let me offload. Exercising socially has been a huge distraction and in fact great therapy