Eating disorder, becoming a mum…and running

Ep5, S2 - Why Run podcast - 1 January 2023

Trigger warning - please note there are references to eating disorders and eating disorder behaviours in this interview.

Vicki developed an eating disorder - anorexia in 2011.  This was a particularly busy and stressful year for her with lots of changes going on in her life. She moved area, she got married, she started a new job and she struggled to cope with all the changes. Initially, restricting her eating and focusing upon food gave Vicki  a sense of control over her life, but it wasn’t long before she realised the eating disorder was controlling her and not the other way round.

Vicki struggled with her eating disorder for seven years with it resurfacing after the birth of each of her two children and in 2017 she was diagnosed with anorexia. Fortunately she was able to access excellent support and received treatment as a day patient at a specialist eating disorder service.

1n 2019, Vicki decided to start running. Her family were concerned that it could be a new purging activity to control her weight, but instead, it has transformed her life. It’s given her strength, a sense of fulfilment and friendship through her running group the Chippenham Harriers.

This year, Vicki says, life came full circle when she ran her first marathon – the  London Marathon – raising funds for Oxford Health, the charity that supports the specialist eating disorder service where Vicki was treated.

This is a particularly poignant interview for me, for as some of you know, I had an eating disorder and was bulimic during much of my teens and 20s and this is referenced in the interview...because we do share common ground in some ways. And like Vicki, running is a key part of my relationship with my body today – but in a really positive way. 

Instagram @vickidoesnotlikehills