CEO blog: Athletics and running at the forefront of supporting mental wellbeing

This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week. 2025 is centred around the power of community, something which is really at the heart of England Athletics.

Community to me means supporting, nurturing and caring for one another. Sharing feelings, sharing experiences, whether good bad or indifferent is therapeutic. Expressing how you feel is important and as the saying goes: ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’.

Too many people bottle in feelings for fear of judgment. Going back decades when I was growing up as a child, it was not the done thing to speak about mental challenges or feeling vulnerable. I know through my own upbringing and sports development experience as a participant of different sports, there were certainly instances where I was struggling beneath the surface but swimming like a swan on top. You never quite know what is going on behind the whites of the eyes. I would not have dared to speak out to my fellow teammates as I didn’t recognise at the time that it was a safe space – something which sporting communities are much more aware and open to today.

The paramount role sports play in creating a positive British society

Sport offers so much in the role that it plays towards not only benefitting physical health, but mental health and wellbeing. The endorphins released during exercise, the sense of accomplishment after achieving a goal and the camaraderie of a supportive community all contribute to positive mental health - as we have found during a recent visit to Boro Runners.

I think the world is a far better place when sport is at the forefront of celebration, of community and of families. You look at the work sport has done in raising awareness of key causes and campaigns, the money which has been raised through sport to benefit others in hardship. There is a real running boom at the moment with over 1.1 million people applying to the London Marathon ballot for 2026, something which is incredible to see.

Music, the performing arts, and sport, which is my favourite, are all integral to British culture - anything which allows people to be included, breaks down barriers, and brings out a personal best should have more time, funding, and energy invested into it. If I were in a prominent place in the government, I would place sport and physical activity at the forefront of wider government policy.

The government should wholeheartedly support the hosting of major sporting events, like the European Track and Field Championships that will be held in Birmingham next year. As a sport we deliver on participation and performance, but I think the physical built legacy of new infrastructure, that creates jobs and stimulates volunteering, brings people together and makes us proud to be a nation of togetherness, empathy, achievement, diversity and difference which is so important.

Through our work with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Running, we will continue to work constructively, alongside our partners, and with the government to help put athletics and running, for the benefit of physical and mental health, at the forefront of their policy making.

See what impact we have made so far:

The work of England Athletics in supporting mental health and inclusion for all

Clubs and volunteers are creating incredible environments across the country, creating safe spaces for people to be ok to not feel ok. It is important for England Athletics to harness that best practice so that it becomes systemic and it is not just a postcode lottery. In every club across the country, every running group, every race, every event, the experience is going to be consistent, the welcome is going to be warm.

Whatever ability, background, whether you want to run a 2:30 marathon or whether you are a 15 minute miler, there is something for you and you are just as important as everyone else, and you belong. That is really important to us at England Athletics.  

Within England Athletics, we have created a supportive structure in the governance of clubs and groups to ensure that the athlete is always placed at the heart, and their needs come first.

We have a fantastic network of over 1100 Mental Health Champions, ambassadors, 1700+ Welfare Officers all positioned within the club network ready to support athletes, runners, and volunteers to have the best possible experience in our sport. Majority of these are volunteers who give up their valuable free time for the love of our sport, and enabling participants to fulfil their potential – something which is rewarding for the volunteers but also something we are eternally grateful for as a membership body.

Find out more about the work of Mental Health Champions and how you can get involved here.

Ensuring our sport remains inclusive for all

Our sport is very inclusive and accessible, however we must remain committed to make sure we eradicate exclusion and barriers where they do exist. Some of the diversity and inclusion work of clubs, particularly in the urban areas of the country where there is a lot of opportunities to connect with and support diverse communities. Clubs are providing access and inclusion in those communities who are suffering real hardship.

We work alongside the Personal Best Foundation to enable children and young people to access athletics and running. They have carried out some fantastic initiatives over the last three years since its launch – from access to facilities to funding, many children have positively benefitted mentally and physically from their contributions.

In close, we will continue to provide a safe, welcoming and warm environment for all athletes, runners, volunteers and fans. As your governing and membership body, we are committed to placing mental health and inclusion at the forefront of our decision making and alongside key stakeholders and partners will lobby the government to appreciate the power of athletics and running in connectivity but also mental health prevention.