The Vivi Nation Podcast – Battling mental health and the impact of running with Tom Dunning
Tom Dunning, aka the Mental Health Runner, joins Chris to give an honest and open account…
What is Vivi Nation and what do we stand for?
We are passionate about healthy living and active lifestyles. We love the great outdoors. We are adventurers. And we want to encourage an active and healthy nation by building an inclusive community.
As a society, we are less active than ever before. It is estimated two-thirds of Brits will be obese or overweight by 2025. That’s why we want to use cycling and running, two of the most accessible sports, alongside nutrition, as a way to inspire our nation to get fit, get outdoors and get active.
ABOUT US
Fuelling an active nation
We want to build a community of adventurers, runners, cyclists, lovers of the outdoors and healthy livers.
How are we going to do that? We are a UK leader in providing healthy nutrition boxes for runners, cyclists and fitness fans to better fuel and recover from workouts. We also promote exercise of any kind – hiking, swimming, team sports, adventuring… We promote accessibility and better nutrition as both play a massive part in getting people healthier and fitter.
THE LAST 6.2 MILES
It’s been an incredible journey for me from 5k to my first marathon. From battling injuries to training in the rain, I don’t think I’ve ever taken on anything so demanding (mentally and physically), but also so rewarding. And I say that, four days after the Brighton Marathon 2019, legs feeling on fire, but with an overwhelming sense of pride.
I am a marathon runner, and that can never be taken away from me. In upcoming posts, I’ll blog about the overall experience and what I’ve learnt, but for this one, I want to talk about the last 6.2 miles.
These miles are the most brutal miles I’ve ever faced. It’s where marathon runners really earn their medal. It’s why the marathon is so special. It’s why a marathon is 26.2 miles, not 20 miles.
From mile 20 onwards, the battle becomes both physical and mental. It’s almost surreal. Why? Because those miles are specifically designed to break you. Your body. Your morale. Your resolve.
If you’ve done the training, you’ll be able to do the first 20 miles. These miles are when you can soak in the atmosphere, get into a rhythm, look around and enjoy yourself.
READ CHRIS' STORY
CHRIS TRAINING FOR THE BIG DAY
OUR BLOG
Read our inspiring stories, tips, tricks and motivational insights for your healthy lifestyle journey.
Q&A: The benefits of a running community with Jessica Coleman
Jessica Coleman is a run leader with RunTalkRun; an initiative aiming to make both running…
Q&A: From chemo to Ironman with Eddy Clarkson
Eddy Clarkson is a Leukaemia survivor, Ironman finisher and personal trainer. In our latest Q&A,…
Why exercise is so much more than physical
The last six months have been hard. Life changed as we knew it. Yet amongst…