A bid to help boost mental health charities is being launched in the region.
Dumfries man William Gillon-Maxwell made the move after he faced his own battle.
He is now set to challenge himself by running 100km over a seven-day spell in May to raise money for Dumfries and Galloway Mental Health Association.
The 39-year-old has told how his battle against crippling anxiety began in November 2019.
William, of Heathhall, told the Standard: “It was on November 5, 2019 that I realised I needed help. I was very, very anxious.
“Anxiety is a big thing because I’ve probably been the person who is there to deal with everything for everybody else, I was always seen as the strong person but it got to the point where I couldn’t function, I couldn’t sleep, it was tough. I needed to stop and ask for help.”
A tough visit to the GP followed for William, but even that was a battle.
He said: “I went to see my GP, the whole journey of sitting in the waiting room and going in and just telling somebody was hard. I nearly walked out, I thought ‘I can do this myself, it’s just a bad day’, but when I went in to speak to the GP, the floodgates opened.”
William was signed off sick and used the first week at home to take stock and come to terms with how his mental health had been hit.
He added: “I then started to look at things like food and exercise.”
Always a keen runner, William turned to the sport to help him through, as well as setting up a website and blogging about his experiences to help others.
Now the retail area manager will stage the 100k series to boost funds for mental health charities.
He said: “I hope to be able to make it an annual thing but I’m doing the first one for Dumfries and Galloway Mental Health Association.
“I’m going to do 5k a day over five days with two rest days in between. It’s good to support local organisations.”
He will kick off the campaign by running a series of 5k routes in Dumfries and Galloway from May 1.
For more information or to back William’s 100k bid, log on to the website at www.behindmask.co.uk
