This is the story of 28-year-old Laura Bird and the incredible events that lead her to complete 10 marathons in 10 different locations, in 10 different days.
In recent years, mental health has been recognised as a significant topic, with a number of volunteer and charity groups in St Ives working hard to raise money and awareness for the issues that can cause social and mental health problems.
Laura Bird has shared with us her remarkable story on her 10-year journey from trying to take her own life, to raising thousands of pounds for charity, publishing her own book and becoming an Ultra Marathon runner. We are hoping this extraordinary story will encourage others to take on a positive mindset and a renewed willingness to support others in 2021.
On Friday 12th November 2010, just four days after her 18th birthday, Laura attempted to take her own life. During a brutal accident, she sustained permanent, life-changing injuries but fortunately, survived. All thanks to the East Anglian Air Ambulance team that airlifted Laura to Addenbrookes Hospital and contributed hugely to saving her life.
The attempt on Laura’s life was unfortunately built up of a number of factors over a number of years, so understandably it took years of rehabilitation and hard recovery for Laura to identify the second chance at life she had been given. After spending months regaining her strength and learning how to walk again, Laura was in awe of what the human body could achieve and recover from.
Eventually, Laura found a passion for fitness and soon qualified as a personal trainer after her accident. Fitness and exercise in all forms can have a positive impact on both your mental and physical health. From strength training to cardio, pushing your body to discover its limit can be addictive, as Laura has found.
By her early 20s, Laura had completed many physical challenges, marathons, triathlons, Ironmans, and endurance challenges, including becoming one of the first-ever female recruits on Channel 4’s SAS Who Dares Wins 2019. Ultimately, this led to
her decision to complete the 10-10-10 Marathon Challenge in 2020. This is a combination of 10 marathons in 10 different UK locations in 10 consecutive days. All for the great cause of raising money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, 10 years after they saved her life. Altogether, Laura and her team raised £7080 in total in the 10-10-10 challenge!
Since then, Laura has gone on to successfully publish her own book, containing more details of her inspirational story. Her aim and belief is for her book to be a real positive boost to those who need a guiding hand with perspective, outlook, and motivation. It’s also the perfect stocking filler for any aspiring athlete or a sporty loved one who likes to push their physical and psychological boundaries. The book finishes on Chapter 10 and contains some of the life lessons she has learnt during the last decade of her life. 10 10 10 is available on Amazon, Book Depository and Gardners Books.
Over the years of her miraculous recovery, Laura has developed a new appreciation for life and everything in it, even after coming so close to losing it all. This story shows there is a light at the end of every tunnel, it’s just unfortunate the way Laura found it. Her book explains it all – it’s definitely worth the read.
10 10 10: My 10-year journey from a suicide attempt to ultra-marathon runner. £12.99 on Amazon.