A SALISBURY resident who has publicly battled depression recently ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
Sally Orange is an adventurer, endurance runner, and mental health campaigner who races to raise awareness about mental health issues.
Medically discharged from the Royal Army Medical Corps in 2019 after serving for 22 years, Sally used exercise to help her mental health issues while raising money for charity.
Sally said: “I do it to break down the stigma about mental health issues. In the first race of the 7-7-7, I chose to do it dressed as a frozen pea, which served a purpose as the first race was in Antarctica. It made people smile.”
Sally has run many marathons dressed as fruit or a cracker and admitted the 7-7-7 challenge was arduous.
The first part of the journey was in Antarctica. The second marathon was in Cape Town, the third race was in Perth, then Dubai and Sally was running in Madrid on the fifth day.
On day six, she was running in Brazil and on the final day, in Miami.
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Sally said:" It was an emotional journey. You are facing different temperatures and time zones and have to try to get some sleep when you can.
"There’s not much chance for recovery. It is all about the preparation, but we did have problems with the plane which meant we had to do three marathons within a 36-hour time frame.
“The hardest part of the challenge for me was in Madrid. It feels as if your body is put through a washing machine. You feel half dead but strangely, you also feel the most alive.
“Depression has taken me to the deepest darkest places, but exercise helps. When I finished the challenge and was here in a hotel room alone, I burst into tears. You can just feel so lonely.”
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Sally was keen to emphasise that mindset is debilitating and that training the mind is just as important as physical training. Sally has learned to cope with her bouts of depression through exercise but admitted it was ‘still there with her.’
She said: “It is like a train crash at maximum speed. I set up my next challenge ahead so I can strive towards it. But everyone is different regarding goals.”
Her next challenge is in April when she is off to the North Pole to run another marathon.
For more information, go to sallyorange.com
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