The incoming Vice President of The Law Society of England and Wales has launched a new initiative, which is set to form part of his own Presidential term, to encourage the legal profession to focus on improving their mental health and wellbeing through regular exercise.
Mark Evans, who is a lecturer at the University of Law and the current Deputy Vice President of the Law Society, has launched LegalRunner, alongside legal charity LawCare, to get the legal sector engaged with getting out and about.
Explaining the background, Mark says
My Dad had a long battle with dementia and died in January 2020. My Mum, who was for many years his carer, died in 2014. The everyday stress of work, family illness and bereavement was beginning to impact on my wellbeing. I felt like something had to change and so in 2020 I set myself a challenge to go from couch to marathon.
It was tough but running provided me with time to think, reevaluate and take stock of my life. I did not realise it at the time but setting distance goals impacted positively on my physical and mental wellbeing. What seemed impossible was now possible.
I lost weight, changed career and decided to focus on matters important to me. Running introduced me to a new community. A community willing to support and help each other. I and others found it easier to talk to a fellow runner than sometimes talking to family and friends. By the end of a training plan I was always focused and a clear path had been developed.
I have now completed three marathons raising funds for Alzheimer’s Society and Tommy’s the baby loss charity.
It was during a training run that the idea of forming a running group for the legal community was formed and the idea of “LegalRunner” was created. I set up a page on LinkedIn and within minutes we had members. Over the last few months the enthusiasm within the group has grown and a community has developed and in August we launched LegalRunner website.
The aim of LegalRunner is to improve mental and physical health and foster a healthier, inclusive and supportive legal community. I am delighted to have the support of LawCare, the mental health charity for the legal sector as a partner.
We are very much at the start of a journey; one I will be championing throughout my term a Vice President, and President of the Law Society, encouraging people to get involved and join in the community.
The group has already gathered support from across the country, with regional ambassadors as far afield as Brighton and Cumbria. It also encourages members to join local organised events like ParkRun, and plans to schedule regular community runs at the same time at different locations before or after work.
For those interested in getting involved there is information on the LegalRunner website and a Linkedin Group which provide regular updates of opportunities to join the community.
