Venture Scotland are incredibly lucky to have Kat Jackson as our Glasgow Outreach and Support Worker. Kat is deeply committed to building strong, meaningful relationships across the local recovery network, and she has supported many young people to take positive steps into our Glasgow programmes.
She is a wonderful asset to the VS team, known for her warm welcomes, thoughtful listening, and genuinely supportive nature. Alongside this, Kat brings a wealth of experience as a knowledgeable and qualified Summer Mountain Leader.
At Venture Scotland, we believe that supporting our participants starts with looking after ourselves, too. We actively encourage our team to prioritise their own mental health and wellbeing while working here – whether that’s making time for movement, getting outdoors, talking to colleagues, or taking space to reset when needed.
For Kat, running plays a huge role in maintaining her own mental health. Below, Kat shares her love of running and what it means to her…
I started running regularly during the time after my university degree, when I first started a ‘grown up job.’ I found this to be an unsettling transitionary time – a different routine and purpose, questioning if I was taking the right direction, and a lot of time sitting down in front of a screen. It felt like I had less control of my time and was less able to move about.
I think running became my go-to exercise because it seemed the least faffy (or ‘most accessible’ in better words)! I could put on some trainers, step out of my door and start running. It doesn’t matter how far or fast you go, it doesn’t require a lot of specialized and expensive gear, and can be done in most places even if just a pavement alongside a road. At first I remembered wondering why on earth people like running, feeling out of breath, sweaty, and not particularly satisfied after a short time running – but something motivated me to keep trying. I pushed past the uncomfortable start and by putting no pressure on myself – I could run on my own terms, build up distance and fitness and started to really enjoy it (it does get better after 5km, I promise!).
Running has been a part of my life for the last ten years now. I go through stages of running more or less, or not at all, and while it always feels depleting to start again, I do come back to it. I find it difficult to embed habits, but there’s a familiarity and ease of running that doesn’t seem overwhelming and in a strange way always seems there for me.
There’s now so many reasons I love running – it still seems the least faffy exercise! I love that running can be whatever you want it to be – one day it can be a slow, quiet time that brings a sense of calm, and another day it can be a headphones-in cardio workout. I have started to run more on trails and in the hills, so it’s also a way to explore Scotland and I get such a buzz running down mountain paths (I haven’t quite got the uphill buzz yet but am trying to accept that that is okay). Whichever form it takes, it brings endorphins and I really notice a difference in my mindset on the days I run, and the days after – I feel much more positive. I feel in touch with my body and more physically fit – as much as we try not to, it’s easy to find flaws in yourself but running helps me to appreciate my body for what it can do rather than how it looks. I still feel self-conscious when I think how long I have run for and whether I should be ‘better,’ but try to look past these thoughts and focus on what I can do and the benefits it brings me. For me, running has always been about spending time outside and moving my body rather than running ‘well’ or ‘fast.’
As someone who feels most at home in the countryside, cities can feel overwhelming and claustrophobic and running gets me into Glasgow’s green and blue spaces. I must have spent hundreds of hours running along the canal and Rivers Kelvin and Clyde now and I have had some real ‘wow’ moments appreciating just how much nature there is close to my city doorstep (the name ‘Glasgow’ comes from the Gaelic word ‘glas’ or green after all!).
I thought it would be hard to write a whole blog on running, but now it’s hard to stop writing! I hope this blog can be a small sign that running is about the joy it brings your mind and body, rather than the speed or distance you cover. While it’s running that has clicked for me, it might be swimming, the gym, knitting, or hunkering down with a book for someone else – I hope this can be an encouragement to embrace the things that bring you joy!
There are lots of ways to get involved with Venture Scotland’s work. You can check out the information on our website and sign up for volunteering updates, or have a look at fundraising opportunities, see Kat featured on the very front page, but you can also find the events that we have places in, and get in touch!
If you’d like to support Venture Scotland, you can sign up for our mailing list here to stay informed about upcoming fundraising and volunteering opportunities, or visit this page to learn about the fundraising opportunities available for this year.