Running for mental health: why this runner is going the distance

As a runner, Ali To has gone from dropping out of an 8-kilometer race to running 50Ks. But her journey isn’t just about building the strength and stamina to run further; in fact, her running story is just as much, if not more, about her mental health.

Ali has long struggled with depression, even contemplating taking her own life at her lowest point. But her commitment to running and improving her physical health has helped her significantly improve her mental health.

That wasn’t always the reason why Ali pursued running, though. In fact, she says that she first started running in high school because she felt like it was the only sport she could do.

Then she found she couldn’t finish the state cross country race—that 8K race—and Ali wondered if maybe even running wasn’t for her. “It was such a shocking moment for me that I actually failed something.”

After that, Ali’s depression worsened. “I just couldn’t get myself out of depression; it was like I was being sucked into this deep, dark hole,” she says. And she watched as friends pulled away from her because they didn’t understand what she was going through.

What motivated her to try running again was a friend asking Ali to run a 15K race with her. As she trained for the race, Ali says, “Every time I ran, I just felt so much better. I felt like I was alive, which I hadn’t felt in such a long time because I was in such a dark place.”

Ali has run off and on since then, but within the last year, she decided to recommit to the sport. It was because of the pandemic that Ali says she’s had the time to devote again to running and she wanted to use it as a way to destress.

She’d also had a goal in the back of her mind to run an ultramarathon when she first heard a friend’s mom talk about running longer distances more than five years ago. As the world shut down, Ali decided to finally pursue that goal, signing up to run a 100K race in October 2021. And more importantly, she decided to use her running as a way to help others struggling with depression and mental health issues.

Ali started an Instagram account—@ali_runs_an_ultra—devoted to her training and decided that along with running, she’d raise money for depression and mental health awareness. “The reason why I did that is because I need to be accountable for this goal. I wanted to tell everyone that I was going to do this,” she explains.

Her efforts will support Beyond Blue, an Australian charity the provides support and information to those struggling with anxiety and depression

Ali will run at least 10 training races in the lead up to her 100K. For every training race, she will donate $100 of her own money, with the goal of donating $1,000 total. And she’s using her platform to raise awareness about mental health issues, with the hope that it will help her raise additional funds, but also reach people who are struggling.

“So many people have reached out and said, ‘I’m so inspired by your story because I have depression as well,’ and it gives me hope that doing something as simple as running can actually alleviate or at least help some of the symptoms of their depression,” Ali says.

“Depression is not something people talk about because they feel embarrassed” she adds, which is why she feels so passionate about sharing her story. She hopes it will help other people feel more comfortable talking about depression and mental health openly.

In 2020, Ali ran two marathons on her own, and one official 50K race. In fact, she completed her second marathon just two weeks after the 50K. After finishing the ultra distance, Ali says her body still felt really strong, so she decided to run a self-supported marathon a week later.

“People told me I couldn’t do it,” she says, which created another motivator for her to give it a try. “You can’t believe what people tell you, you can’t believe what your mind tells you…you can do anything.”

Ali has found that the mental aspect of running is so much more important to achieving her goals than the physical aspect. She says, “Our minds are so full of negative chatter all the time, and we’re always telling ourselves, ‘we can’t do this,’…If you switch that off…then actually you can do so much more than you think.”

So she ran a marathon after her 50K to prove to herself that she could do it. It took two attempts–the first was derailed by a leaking water bladder–but she ran the full 26.2 miles by herself just two weeks after the ultra.

“Running helps me develop my resilience…if I fall, I get up and keep on going,” Ali says. “Failing in running and failing in life isn’t actually a negative thing. It’s an opportunity to learn. The more you fail and the more you get up and try again, that will help you develop your resilience in life and help you take on hard things.”

And this is how running has improved her mindset in so many other areas of her life.

“One thing that depression taught me is that your life is so short; you only have one life…If you start to take yourself out of your comfort zone, there are so many things you can experience, and then the life that you live has a lot more meaning,” Ali says now.

This is what has inspired her ultimate running goal: to compete in Badwater, the 135-mile race through Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA, which bills itself as “the world’s toughest foot race.” Ali is planning to run it in 2023.

While this goal is monumental, Ali says that for her and anyone else wanting to take on big running goals, “If people find a strong enough why then they will keep going.”

“My running why is very strong…It basically saved my life.”

And Ali hopes that by continuing to run, she can help save more lives.

You can follow Ali’s running journey on Instagram @Ali_runs_an_ultra

And to hear more of Ali’s story, listen to our conversation below!