Bob Bell-Johnson: How running helped one man come to terms with the pain of grief
About this episode
Bob Bell-Johnson shares how running has helped him cope with grief and rebuild his confidence after personal struggles.
For Bob Bell-Johnson, running is not simply about fitness. It is thinking time. The 39-year-old, from Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, is training to become a personal trainer, a major career change after a long and complicated journey with his physical and mental health. Bob was born with a club foot, which required surgery when he was young and left his lower left leg permanently weaker. Later, he faced serious back problems, including major spinal surgery in 2013 for cauda equina syndrome. After that operation, he used walking sticks for two years. So running was never the obvious path. As Bob puts it: "Me and running is like eating chocolate with gravy. It can be done but it is not great." But running has given Bob something he describes as essential: space to think. It has become a way to process grief, rebuild his confidence and take care of his mental health. Bob was 18 when his mother, Liz, told him she had been diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. She died just over a year later, in November 2005, aged 53. Liz was outgoing, joyful and deeply present in Bob's life. He remembers dancing around the kitchen with her to Dire Straits, and seeing her in the audience when…
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