This week I'm joined by Laura Bird who shares her powerful journey from one of the darkest moments of her life to taking on extraordinary endurance challenges.
At 18, Laura attempted to take her own life, an experience that profoundly changed the way she views life, purpose and mental health. In the years since, she has channelled that experience into a series of incredible running challenges to raise awareness and funds for charity.
To mark the 10-year anniversary of her suicide attempt, she ran 10 marathons in 10 days to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and in 2024, she completed the London Marathon carrying a fridge on her back. She's now gearing up for her next incredible challenge - running 31 marathons in 31 days in May for Rays of Sunshine.
We discuss the logistics of planning these challenges, the power of building a community and the perspective her experience has given her on life and mental health.
An honest and deeply inspiring conversation about resilience, recovery, and finding meaning after the darkest moments.
Content note: This episode discusses suicide and mental health.
For help and support visit https://www.samaritans.org/ or https://www.mind.org.uk
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This podcast was designed, created and edited by Bethany Lumborg. The guest was Laura Bird. Intro/outro music was composed by Ievgen Poltavskyi and obtained from Pixabay.