Man running 52 marathons after mental health crisis

Tommy Greenhouse was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2021

A graduate who struggled with his mental health throughout his studies returned to his university campus to run his 47th marathon out of a planned 52 this year.

Tommy Greenhouse, 22, said the challenge – and his fundraising for 52 charities – had given him "purpose" and helped "prove my progress to myself".

Mr Greenhouse, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2021 after attempting to take his own life.

For his 47th marathon on Saturday, Mr Greenhouse ran 55 laps of the University of the West of England's Glenside Campus in Bristol in aid of Oxfam Asia.

Mr Greenhouse is running mainly in England, with a few stops abroad including Dubai and Istanbul

He said he hoped sharing his experience would help others struggling with their mental health.

Mr Greenhouse chose to run a marathon in each of England's 48 counties, with four additional marathons in Cardiff, Istanbul, Dubai and at Egypt's Pyramids of Giza.

He had to complete four of the runs in just nine days after taking six weeks off to recover from an injury.

He said the challenge had made him realise how mentally strong he was to get through his struggles with depression.

"Although I'm physically running marathons now, I was mentally running marathons for a year straight four years ago," he said.

"Most of these marathons have been easier than getting into uni, when I used to shake at the thought of social interaction and getting up, brushing my teeth."

Mr Greenhouse stopped off in Egypt to run one of the 52 marathons

Mr Greenhouse said he was also running to pay tribute to his aunt Ruth, who "very unexpectedly" died of encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – in July 2023.

"She encouraged me to stick at my degree in sports rehabilitation, and was a very important figure in mine and my family's lives, and ultimately the reason I picked up this challenge," he said.

One of his 52 charities is Encephalitis International. He also chose the British Heart Foundation owing to his family's history with heart conditions, and Meningitis UK because he contracted the disease when he was younger.

Mr Greenhouse's final marathon will be in Gloucestershire on 27 December, which he will run in aid of mental health charity Mind.