Celebrating sobriety and the power of running for improved mental health
October marks World Mental Health Day and we are celebrating the power exercise and running in particular can have on our mental and physical health. We recently caught up with Rich Casement, an active member of the Peaky Runners group and host of RunTalkRun and RunSocial groups in Leeds.
Trigger warning: this story contains references to alcohol, suicide and poor mental health which some readers may find distressing.
Using running to support mental health
Alike many others, Rich originally took up running as support for his mental health.
“I have been a runner for 15 years and started doing parkruns before progressively working my way up through the distances to 10k, half and full marathons, recently finding the love of trail ultra-marathons.
“In the past, I’ve used running as a form of therapy, especially during the Covid lockdowns, however I now see it more as therapeutic rather than actual therapy. I did sometimes push it too far and then my mental health would suffer further if I missed a run. Fast forward to 2021 and I found myself starting to question whether the people nearest to me would be better off without me on the planet, which was a really difficult thing for me to process having been historically upbeat and confident.”
Reframing his relationship with alcohol and rediscovering his true identity
Despite describing his personality as addictive at times, Rich doesn’t consider himself to have been an alcoholic, in fact he’d been steadily reducing his alcohol intake since the birth of his first child in 2014.
“As we finally emerged from the Covid lockdowns midway through 2021, I could sense that something wasn’t quite right, and my usual coping mechanism of running wasn’t improving my mental health. It was at this stage that I knew I needed to find some professional help. Admitting you’re struggling is one thing though. Reaching out for help, especially as a middle-aged guy, is an entirely different challenge and sadly many men still find it hard to show their vulnerabilities.”
Later that year, on the way to the Manchester Marathon, the podcast Rich was listening to had a profound impact and he knew he needed to reach out for support.
“I’ll never forget the feeling of release of emotion that happened that day as it suddenly dawned on me that, despite being physically in the best shape of my life, mentally I was in bits. I completed the marathon and achieved my goal of setting a PB which felt incredible, but I knew then that the hard work needed to begin.”
Having previously tried therapy, he decided that it was not the appropriate support for him, so instead Rich explored coaching. Although not viewing alcohol as the root cause of his problems, he also took a break from drinking alcohol. Finding two coaches who he could relate to, helped Rich to feel the benefits of this coaching.
“Fast forward to the end of 2022 and I was one year alcohol free, feeling great, reaping all the physical and mental benefits, but I lacked social connection as I was the only one in my immediate friendship circle who didn’t drink alcohol. So, I decided to use my positive experiences of being a member of the Peaky Runners group to start my own running group locally.
“RunTalkRun is an established nationwide running and mental health support community but I noticed there wasn’t one in Leeds. So, after contacting Jess, the founder, I was soon able to set one up.
“The group has become a fantastic support network for people in the community, and it is the highlight of their week to take part in our 5k run. There’s a girl in our group who had never run before and is now smashing out half marathons for fun! Starting the group has given me huge joy in seeing others make positive progress in what they can achieve. Running is everything to me and I don’t know what I would do without it, and I am grateful to now be able to share this with others and watch them fall in love with it.”
Launching an alcohol-free beer and giving back
Learning from his journey with alcohol and running, together with 20 years of experience working in the alcohol industry, Rich launched his own alcohol-free beer brand, Clean Break, giving back 10p from each can to a local charity. From their first beer, Progression Pale Ale, the company has evolved into a lifestyle brand that stands for health, wellbeing and opportunity.
“The beer was simply the vehicle for raising the brand awareness and getting the Clean Break name out there. But it’s evolving into so much more than this, and I’m proud to now be helping others build a life beyond limitations and to create a lifestyle to bounce out of bed for.
“My mission going forward is to positively impact the lives of one million people, directly or indirectly, through the joys and benefits of running and taking a Clean Break from alcohol.”