A Staffordshire Police Federation member who completed a half marathon in aid of local causes - including a mental health charity - has spoken about his wellbeing issues.
PC Richard Lymer took on the Tissington Half Marathon in aid of the Burton Albion Community Trust and Burton and District Mind.
Richard is the dedicated football officer for Burton Albion and Tamworth, and he’s also Staffordshire Police’s football engagement and inclusion officer.
He was inspired to run for the causes for a number of reasons, including the death of Staffordshire Police colleague Anthony Ingham, known as Ingers to many, and his own experiences of mental health.
Speaking ahead of World Mental Health Day on Tuesday (October 10), Richard said: “It was a run for Ingers, to remember his life and help to prevent and reduce the number of people with mental health illnesses by increasing their ability to access help and support.
“Mental health is something that I care about and I’m really conscious of as it’s affected me.
“I’ve been very well supported by the Force, and they’ve referred me for counselling and therapies, including CBT and EMDR, for PTSD.
“It’s an emotive subject for me and something I think is really important.
“And because of that I wanted to raise money for Burton and District Mind because of the great work they do in providing mental health services and support in the town.
“It can affect anyone and I can’t stress enough that if you are struggling then please speak up.
“There are support mechanisms in the Force. Anyone can make a TRiM referral, if you’ve been affected by an incident at work you can seek help that way. You can self-refer into occupational health and we’ve also got mental health champions across the Force.
“The important thing is not to suffer in silence.”
As Burton Albion’s dedicated football officer, Richard also wanted to support the club’s community trust after being struck by the work it does.
He said: “I didn’t realise until I went there for the first time just how much work they do. It’s amazing.
“They have a board, a four-week planner on the wall and every day is crammed, jam-packed with activities they’re doing.
“It could be people with mental health issues, underprivileged children, people recovering from illness. The work they do is massive.”
Richard had been due to run the Brewers 10k last year but had to pull out because he was suffering with plantar fasciitis - also known as policeman’s heel - and then tore his calf muscle trying to overcompensate for the pain he was experiencing.
It meant he had to take six months out to allow the injuries to fully heal and then six months training to be able to complete the distance.
He finished 50th out of the 314 runners in what’s likely to be his last competitive run for a while after suffering a knee injury.
“I finished in the top sixth of the runners and was really quite pleased with that,” he said.
Picture caption: Richard Lymer took on the Tissington Half Marathon in aid of good causes
