Meet our amazing Brighton 10K team!
With personal stories and powerful motivations, their journeys are what make this challenge so meaningful. Take a moment to read their stories and, if you can, support their efforts through their fundraising pages. Every donation helps make a difference. Thank you Christie, Stan & Tom – we appreciate your amazing support!
Stan Dru
Hey, I’m Stan, I’m 40 and this year, I decided to run the Brighton 10K for the BDD Foundation because their support genuinely changed my life.
Last year I was diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, alongside an atypical eating disorder. For a long time, I didn’t fully understand what was happening in my mind, I just knew my thoughts about my body were intrusive, loud, and exhausting. The BDD Foundation gave me something I didn’t realise I needed so deeply: understanding, language, and community.
Through their resources and support groups, I began to recognise patterns in my behaviour and thinking. I jumped on zoom calls and spoke with people who felt the same shame, fear and obsession I’d been carrying for years. That feeling of “it’s not just me” was incredibly powerful. It helped me seek proper treatment and start being more open about my experience. Listening to the BDDF podcasts allowed me to identify patterns in my behaviour and enabled me to speak more candidly about my BDD to my boyfriend Tom, which has definitely brought us closer.
Training for the 10K has been a journey in itself. Over the past few months I haven’t been motivated to run, however, I’m now taking SSRI’s which has definitely helped reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed thoughts of my body and appearance , and I’m now motivated to get training and focus on the run, I did a 10K just a few days (I’m all or nothing 🤣) which was my first 10K in nearly 5 months, so I’m extremely happy I didn’t snap my leg.
What I’m most looking forward to on race day is the sense of collective purpose. Knowing that every step is raising awareness for a condition that’s still so misunderstood means everything to me. If even one person feels less alone because of this, it’s worth it.
Taking part in the 10K is all about using my voice and my platform for something bigger than myself and I’m proud to do it for the BDDF ❤️
Tom Sheard
I’m Tom, I’m 35 and I was inspired to run for BDDF as my partner was recently diagnosed with BDD. I’d never heard of it or understood it until now and the stats of 1 in 50 people suffering with this floored me. I’m running to help raise awareness and show people there really is some help out there and they’re not alone.
My training is going well, I’m already running 10k on weekends at home to prepare for the race.
I’m most looking forward to the atmosphere on the day, hearing other people’s stories and their journeys and to just be included to play a little part in something that could be life changing for people suffering with BDD.
Christie- Luke Jones
I’ve been living with BDD since my pre-teens, and The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation is the first dedicated BDD charity that I’ve ever come across. I’m currently taking part in their Overcoming BDD programme and cannot express how grateful I am for the superb wellbeing tools that they have provided me with, as well as the invaluable opportunity to meet others living with the condition.
My training for the Brighton 10k is going well, though I still have to remind myself to focus on post-run recovery – stretching, foam-rolling, etc. Not easy when all I want to do is crash out on the sofa and demolish a sharer pack of crisps! On that note, I’m really looking forward to my post-race meal – I absolutely love Brighton and the food options are top-notch!