Actor Robert Lonsdale has used the moors of Marsden as training for this weekend’s London Marathon.
The Marsden-born star of stage and screen will be raising money and awareness of Heads Together, a mental health charity which has Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge as patrons.
Robert, 35, known for TV work including BBC’s The Interceptor and E4’s Chewing Gum, plus Vera and Inspector George Gently, has already raised nearly £2,000 - you can sponsor him here .
He said: “I grew up in Marsden and although the London Marathon is a flat run I’ve done a bit of training on the moors around Marsden where my parents live.
“Every mile uphill feels like two miles so it’s been good training.
“I’m running for Heads Together. The charity works with several others to encourage people to speak openly about mental health.
“I’ve experienced it myself and running has been great for me - it gives structure and something to focus on.”
Robert, son of Tom and Dilys Lonsdale, says his own experience and that of friends and family had made him more determined to raise awareness of Heads Together and encourage people to be more open about mental health.
He added: “With a physical illness people are aware of it, but with mental health there has been a stigma. Things are changing slowly, but the way mental health conditions manifest it’s not visible and it’s not solved by telling someone to ‘cheer up’.
“The culture among men has been not to show emotion for fear of how people will respond and to have people like (TV broadcaster) Piers Morgan say we should all ‘man up’ is actually misleading and a bit sexist.
“This is about people not having the fear to be open about it. The more I was, the more I saw other people had experience of it too.”
Robert says his marathon training has taken over his life lately, but soon after he’ll begin rehearsals for a play at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond that runs until July.
He added: “I moved down to London in my early 20s, it was where you had to come to be an actor.
“Things are changing and there are great things happening in Manchester and Cardiff but where I live in South East London I’ve found a bit of green to remind me of home.
“I love that in Marsden there is a real sense of community, we have it here but it’s harder to find. But I do love coming home.”
