Running Rhian an inspiration

I LIVE on the London Marathon route and love going out to cheer on the competitors. Seeing the great charities they’re supporting, the names and photos of lost loved ones on their T-shirts, the faces flushed with emotion and elation as well as exertion. This year I tried my best to spot one woman – mum-of-three Rhian Burke, 39, who featured on the Mind over Marathon programme with Nick Knowles. She was running for Heads Together, the charity set up by royals William, Kate and Harry, along with six other novices who’d all suffered mental health issues. Rhian’s world fell apart in 2012 when her year-old son George died from an unexplained seizure. Five days later her grief-stricken husband Paul killed himself. Her perfect life was “shattered into millions of tiny pieces” and she suffered crippling depression and anxiety which she hid behind a mask. But training for the marathon helped Rhian turn her life around – because she could open up to her fellow competitors, and talking allowed her to seek psychotherapy.

She has now set up her own bereavement charity (and you can still sponsor her online). Sadly I didn’t spot Rhian on the route but thousands of others did and cheered her on to the finish line like the heroine she is. She said: “I’ve had to stay strong for so long and never let anyone see my emotions.

“But this made me vulnerable. I hope it helps others to know that the mask can come off.”

It did, Rhian. You’re an inspiration.