028 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK SEPTEMBER 2019
WORDS: DAVID SMYTH. PHOTOGRAPHS: HARRY ROTHIn the middle of 2017, overwhelmed
by the stresses of living and working
in London, Jessica Robson began
retreating every weekend to her
parents’ home in East Sussex, where
her mum would drag her out for
Sunday runs. ‘That was quite a dark
summer for me. I was struggling to
cope,’ she says. ‘But I found I was
opening up far more when running
with my mum than I was in my
therapy sessions in London. With my
therapist I felt so intimidated having
someone sat in front of me – all that
eye contact in a small space. I was
holding a lot back. But when I ran, it
was like I had verbal diarrhoea.’
By autumn she had the courage to
see if there were others who wanted
to use running the way she did – as
a safe space to talk about mental
health. A callout to friends was met
with silence, so she called the idea
Run Talk Run and started asking
strangers on the internet instead.
Initially, Robson would wait near
London Bridge every Thursday
evening with a 5K in mind. ‘It was
always 50/50 whether anyone would
show up, but I would go to the
starting point and run anyway,’ she
says. ‘My self-esteem was so low at
that point, but the fact that I pushed
myself to stand there every week
improved my resilience, and running
always helped with any negative
feelings. By the end of the runs
I was feeling much better.’
As a small following developed,
she moved the base to a gym inTAKING
TIME TO
TA LK
Meet the running group
helping its members open
up about mental healthSOCIAL
MOVEMENTSouthwark so there would be water
and toilets available, and developed
some guidelines: run as slow as
the slowest runner and be there to
listen, not advise; it’s peer-to-peer
support, not professional help.
Robson stresses she is neither a
therapist nor a running coach.
‘At the start of every run I reiterate
that it isn’t competitive. I never track
the runs. I encourage runners to
ditch the Garmins and focus on the
conversations that are taking place.
We know we’re not for everyone.
There are so many clubs for people
who want a tough run. That isn’t us.’
In June 2018, Jennie Oliver found
Run Talk Run on Instagram and
asked Robson if she could set up a
second group in Peterborough. It
has carried on growing that way,
with the active online community
spreading into new places in real
life. As well as 19 groups across the
UK there are now three in the US
and one in Brisbane, Australia.
‘If I’m totally honest, it was selfish
in the beginning. I started it because
it was what I needed,’ says Robson.
‘But as more people started coming
along, and seeing us online, I saw
how much others needed it as well.
What I love is that I can turn up as
anxious or as low as I am and it’s
still OK. I know that’s a space where
I can be completely myself, and so
can everyone else.’TALKING
TO OTHER
MEMBERS
OF RUN
TALK RUN
‘I met others who
were kind enough
to share their
stories with me,
whether it was
their ongoing
battle with mental
illness or simply
what they were
going to cook for
dinner. I found
myself opening
up in a way I had
never experienced
before in a non-
medical setting.’- Katie
MacDonald,
joined spring 2018
‘I had the fear that
I would be too
slow or too much
of a hindrance, or
it would be too
awkward. I’m glad
I was wrong on
all accounts.
There is no
competitiveness,
but rather a spirit
of collaboration
and achieving a
goal together.’- Sumaya Hassan,
joined Nov 2018
runtalkrun.comLEFT: Members
or Run Talk Run
before they set off
BELOW LEFT:
Founder Jessica
Robson: ‘Focus on
the conversations’