Merseyside cricketer and running coach Alex Rigby agrees he might be a little crazy after completing an ultramarathon to raise money for his cricket club, Ainsdale.
“I think any runner is a bit of a madman, I think you have to be to want to push yourself like that,” he said.
Alex ran through every postcode in Liverpool, a staggering 52 miles, to raise money for new training nets at the club.
And he credits the community spirit as a reason why he smashed his original goal.
“I feel like in Liverpool we always look out for each other and look after our own.”
“I think people appreciated the challenge, running a double marathon in the winter.”
One of the reasons Alex runs is to help him with his mental health.
“I don’t like to sit around all day, I like to stay busy to keep my head and mind in a good place.”
Furthermore, it is the idea of the challenge that motivates Alex the most.
“It is great for your mental health, a lot of runners get that high from a run, but I just love the challenge of it.”
David Linden, a professor of neuroscience at John Hopkins University, explains the science behind this phenomenon.
“Exercise has a dramatic anti-depressive effect, it blunts the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress.”
Alex will keep running to keep his mental health in check.
“For me it is seeing the progress and improvements and always trying to beat my personal best.”
“I always want to do something that’s even crazier, I feel like doing something that isn’t challenging isn’t really worth doing.”
(Featured image picture by farmama – Under Creative Commons License)
