When Jo Henstock, a Nottingham vet, realised she was struggling with her mental health, she turned to her GP. Dr Martin changed Jo's "perspective on everything" and her life.
She recommended running to Jo, who confesses she was "rubbish at sport at school". But she tried, and started off with a 5k. Then she signed up for the Mablethorpe marathon and gave herself ten months to get in shape.
With that under her belt, and feeling much better, Jo completed her first marathon in 2019. And, impressively, has just done her "5 in 5" marathon challenge - five marathons in five consecutive days.
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Jo, 35, of Cropwell Butler, a veterinary surgeon at Radcliffe Animal Centre, said: "After my first run, I was exhausted, but you still feel a sense of achievement. For me, it was all I had to do - put on a pair of trainers, to stay at the gym long enough to get my goal done.
"I just had to show up. As long as you showed up and did something, you felt better for it. I was in a low place. I couldn't even get out of bed. It was the sense of achievement now I had got out of bed".
Suicide in Jo's profession is high in the UK. Jo says it is a stressful environment, and "you deal with life or death on a daily basis".
She has raised more than £6,000 so far for five charities close to her heart - Stroke Association, Mind, MS Society, Cancer Research UK and RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre, which, she says has to do its own fundraising.
Jo said: "The marathons were tough and each had their own challenges. I had a brilliant support crew with me to keep me on track and help when I started to struggle.
"Day 1 was Derbyshire and started at Carsington Water and finished at Hassop Station Café just above Bakewell. It was 26.72 miles with some serious hills and plenty of rain!
"Day 2 was Leicestershire, where I started in Cossington and finished at Nottingham Vet School in Sutton Bonington. This one was 26.79 miles and was still quite hilly but no rain thankfully until after we finished when it bucketed it down.
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"Day 3 was Lincolnshire, where I ran from Tattershall to Lincoln. It was quite an early start for the 26.58 miles but I was grateful for some fairly flat terrain.
"Day 4 was Nottinghamshire, and quite possibly one of the hardest but most brilliant days of my life. The support along the route, including through my home village of Cropwell Butler, was amazing, and I covered 28.38 miles with friends from my running group taking it in turns to join me.
"I finished at RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre, where I work, and 55 people were waiting there to surprise me with cake and well wishes. Day 5 took me to Leeds and the inaugural Rob Burrow Marathon.
"It was a hot day and fairly brutal course including a hill from mile 17-19 where most runners were hitting the wall. 26.56 miles later, though, I managed to finish with a sprint into Headingley Stadium.
"I hit my fundraising targets just before starting Day 5 and I’m sure this got me round when my left leg was so painful with very tight calf muscles.
"In total I ran 135.03 miles over the five days and it was all so worth it to raise this money for the five charities".
Her JustGiving pages are still open for anyone wants to donate, or go to her Facebook page here.
Stroke Association - https://www.justgiving.com/Jo-Henstock-5in5-Stroke
MS Society - https://www.justgiving.com/Jo-Henstock5in5-MSSociety
Mind - https://www.justgiving.com/Jo-Henstock5in5Mind
Cancer Research UK - https://www.justgiving.com/jo-henstock5in5cancerresearchuk
RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre - https://www.justgiving.com/Jo-Henstock5in5-RSPCARadcliffeAnimalCentre
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