Walking Netball: Building Community and Well-being in Cheshire East
EB Health & Leisure
Alex is one of our Trustees at Everybody Health & Leisure. He sits on the Customers and Partners Committee and for the last six years he has brought an interesting perspective to our organisation.
This May, Alex is taking on the Windermere Lap – a challenging 47-mile ultra marathon race around Lake Windermere in the Lake District to raise money for the Everybody Foundation.
Alex has a really inspiring story driving him to compete in this race, and we hope that you will follow his journey on our social media channels and donate if you can!
A bit more about Alex
Throughout his career fitness has been a priority for Alex, and for a long time, his passion was the high intensity world of road cycling racing. In 2009 he was involved in a cycling accident and broke his leg in 3 places. He was told that while he would recover, he would probably ‘never run any marathons’. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Alex took this comment to heart and began running.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of his bad luck, and in 2011 Alex suffered a broken back and collar bone in another cycling accident.
In 2012 an incident at work resulted in torn tendons to both shoulders that were not fixed until 2022 and 2024.
These accidents meant he had to step away from competing in road cycling, but he diversified his activities, stepped up the running and started training for triathlons, eventually completing IronMan Bolton, numerous marathons and now ultra marathons.
Overcoming challenges
Alex is a Police Inspector with the Greater Manchester Police. In his 28-year career with the force he spent a long time at the front lines of policing, witnessing some upsetting and traumatising things that he was never able to come to terms. When Alex progressed and moved into an office-based role he stepped out of the continuous rush, and the change in pace meant that he began to process his experiences. He started to realise that his mental health had been seriously affected by what he had seen. Since seeking professional treatment Alex has been diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety, and has realised that he was using extreme forms of exercise in his personal time as a coping mechanism for his underlying mental health struggles. He completed the Iron Man triathlon with his two torn rotator cuffs, something that would have been incredibly painful to do.
Since he has been processing and treating his mental health conditions, Alex has also reassessed his relationship with exercise. Switching from road running to trail running has forced him to slow down and focus on enjoying the pace and scenery, rather than pounding the pavements for the fastest time possible. He is also exercising for health and longevity, to spend as much time as he can with his wife and three daughters.
Looking forward
Alex has made an impressive commitment to do the best that he can for his own health, and to help others while he does it. We will be documenting some of Alex’s training on our social media channels as he uses Everybody Health & Leisure facilities and classes to prepare for this gruelling challenge. Please follow along and share any words of encouragement or advice over on our Facebook and Instagram. You can also donate to Alex’s JustGiving page here.
Good Luck Alex!
There are a range of mental health services available in Cheshire East. If you or someone you know, needs support you can contact your GP to find out about talking therapies treatment or call Samaritans free on 116 123 if you want to talk to someone now.
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