A VET from a Whitchurch-based practice will be undertaking the Chester Marathon on October 6 in aid of two mental health charities.

Claire Whittle, associate veterinary surgeon at LLM, will be running the marathon to raise money for the Farming Community Network and The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

This will not be the first time Claire has undertaken the feat of a marathon, but it is the first time she has done so with such purpose.

“Last year, we received some heart-breaking news in our family," said Claire.

"Until this day we cannot understand why nothing was said or why they didn’t ask for help, but that is the unfortunate stigma of mental health.

"Middle aged men are quoted as most likely to ‘put on a brave face’ or just ‘get on with it’, so we must do what we can to open up this conversation and try to break down this stigma.”

Since graduating from Liverpool University in 2014, Claire has focused on large animal vetting, working with farmers to further herd health.

She has worked and lived in many rural communities before settling on the Welsh borders, and has been witness to many of the struggles farmers go through.

“Farmers endure long, unsociable hours, physically and emotionally demanding work, whilst also working very closely with family, which I’m sure we can all agree can be tough," added Claire.

"Couple this with financial, political and public perception pressure and you can see how stress can easily build up. It isn’t a weakness to talk to someone or ask for help.

“I’m definitely not doing this marathon out of love for running! I’m doing it to raise awareness of the charities that are there to help and doing a fantastic job.

"However I think we can all do a bit more to banish this stigma for good.”