25 consecutive London marathons, dressed as a big, green telephone with running legend Dave Lock

The Proper Mental Podcast

Welcome to episode 191 with Dave Lock, who is more commonly known as the running telephone.

For the last 25 consecutive years, Dave has ran the London Marathon to raise funds and awareness for the Samaritans charity and along the way he has become an iconic part of both the marathon and the mental health space. This year he ran as team captain for the charity’s fundraisers.

In this episode I chat to Dave about the mental health challenges that he has faced and how they inspired him to start running in fancy dress.

We also chat about his relationship with The Samaritans who he credits with saving his life when he was at his lowest and we chat about how he has also worked for them as a volunteer on the phones.

We chat about running, the pressures of the corporate world, connecting with others and the emotional impact of this year’s marathon, his 25th in a row, but the first one without the support of his brother who took his own life last year.

Dave is a truly lovely man and it was a joy to chat to him about his special relationship with The Samaritans charity and some of the changes he has seen in the mental health space over the years.

You can call The Samaritans any time, day or night, on 116 123.

Learn more at www.samaritans.org

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Thanks for listening!