“EVEN THOUGH SO MANY HORRIBLE THINGS WERE HAPPENING AROUND ME, I GOT UP EVERY DAY AND RAN FOR AN HOUR”
Caithy Walker tells us how running has helped her cope with life’s toughest moments
PHOTO: HELEN TURTON WORDS: CLAIRE CHAMBERLAIN
COVER STAR
When Caithy Walker found running, she used it to manage the agonising symptoms of both a debilitating spinal condition – and clinical depression. It become the natural healer that has transformed her life.
Given that our cover star Caithy Walker, 34, a part-time teacher from Manchester, was told in 2012 she would never be able to do high-impact sport again, you’d think she’d have the perfect excuse to hang up her running shoes and call it a day, right?
But determined not to give up, even in the face of huge adversity, Caithy defied doctors, teaching herself to run again through her darkest days. In fact, she credits running as the thing that saved her life.
TESTING TIMES
As a teenager, Caithy was always active. Passionate about athletics (although she admits “I hated long distance because I had asthma, so it was all 100m or 200m”), she even competed in hurdles and high jump at County level. However (like for many of us), while at university, her fitness routine dropped off a little: “I dipped in and out of it, but it wasn’t part of my everyday routine at that point.”