I am a veterinary surgeon based in Nottingham, working in emergency and critical care. I was never a sporty child and only took up running in my twenties as a procrastination from vet school revision. It was hard at first, but I began to notice huge differences in my mental health and within a few months it became an absolutely vital part of my well-being.

Since then I have developed a passion for encouraging others to find the confidence to get more active, particularly women. Running has taught me to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. This suddenly became really important to me after suffering a miscarriage in 2018. Running helped me cope with the emotions I was facing, and learn to feel proud again of a body that I felt had let me down in the biggest way. I took each day step by step (quite literally), culminating in 26.2 miles of steps at the London Marathon, nearly exactly a year after my loss.

I write and speak regularly about the benefits of exercise on wellbeing, particularly in the veterinary profession. I also talk openly about my experiences of pregnancy loss, and what a huge role running played in my recovery. I am working hard to generate more conversations about the tough stuff in life, and break down the taboos that surround them.

I recently founded the Vet MINDS group, a closed facebook group designed to create a safe and supportive space for veterinary professionals affected by miscarriage, infertility, neonatal death and infertility.