Shelley Cotterill

GLOW up London with Mental Health UK

I'm lighting up London on my BIRTHDAY as part of GLOW this October– a vibrant sponsored walk shining a light on mental health.

I’m proud to be supporting Mental Health UK, a charity that provides life-changing support to people across the UK affected by mental health challenges.

With your help, we can turn London’s iconic streets into a celebration of hope, strength, and solidarity. Every donation powers vital services, helplines, and resources — helping to ensure no one faces a mental health problem alone.

Let’s light the way toward a future where mental health is valued and supported. Please donate if you can — and thank you for being part of the movement.

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My Updates

Cue musical number - Legsmiserables!

Friday 29th May

If you’d told me a year and a half ago that I’d willingly sign up to walk 20km through London at night dressed like a human glow stick, I would have laughed while eating snacks horizontally on the sofa.

And yet… here we are.

This October, on my birthday no less, I’ll be taking part in the London GLOW Walk for Mental Health UK, because apparently turning older wasn’t painful enough already.

But honestly? This means so much more to me than just a walk.

A year and a half ago, this would have felt completely impossible. I was incredibly overweight, struggling badly with mobility issues caused by endometriosis, exhausted all the time, and stuck in that horrible vicious cycle where you can’t exercise because you feel awful… but feeling awful makes everything even harder.

I hated exercise. Genuinely hated it. If avoiding movement was an Olympic sport, I’d have brought home gold. I've even joked at times I wouldn't run if I was being chased.

But over the last year, something changed.

Slowly, painfully, awkwardly, and with many complaints along the way, I started trying to take better care of myself. And somehow, through consistency, determination, sheer stubbornness and the help of GLP1 injections, I’ve now lost 6 stone.

SIX STONE.

I still have a long way to go, but for the first time in a very long time, I actually feel hopeful about what my body can do instead of angry at it for what it can’t.

So signing up for this walk feels symbolic. It’s me proving to myself that my life doesn’t have to stay small. It’s me pushing myself to do something difficult, something active, something slightly ridiculous, and something I genuinely never thought I’d be capable of.

Will I complain the entire way round London? Almost certainly.

Will my feet forgive me? Unclear.

Will I look absolutely fabulous glowing through the streets at midnight while questioning every life choice that led me there? Absolutely.

But most importantly, I’m doing it for a cause that matters deeply.

Mental health and physical health are so connected, and I know firsthand how hard it can be when your body and mind are both struggling. Mental Health UK supports people through some of the hardest moments of their lives, and I’m incredibly proud to support them - even if it means marching 20km into the night powered only by determination, birthday cake dreams, and blister plasters.

If you’d like to support me (and my rapidly declining leg muscles), I’d be so grateful for any donation, no matter how small.

Thank you for cheering me on and please keep me in your thoughts when I’m 17km in, hobbling through London wondering why I didn’t choose a nice quiet birthday dinner instead.

Wish me luck!

Thank you to my Sponsors

£10

Deon

What an amazing thing to do 🥹 so proud of you already, and thank you for sharing your story in the process - we need more Shelleys in the world ❤️ good luck!

£10