Graduate completes 52 marathons in a year for charity after mental health challenges

A UWE Bristol graduate who had mental health difficulties during his studies has raised £9,000 for charities by completing 52 marathons in one year.

Tommy Greenhouse, who graduated in sports rehabilitation in July last year, raised money for 52 good causes by finishing the gruelling challenge.

He completed his final marathon of 2025 in his hometown of Cheltenham in late December in support of mental health charity Mind.

The graduate said that crossing the line at his final marathon gave him a ‘sense of completion’ that he had never experienced.

Tommy, 22, said: “I have never had a weight lifted so quickly off my shoulders as soon as I finished - it felt amazing. Running through my hometown, with my family and friends at the finish line, and running for the most important cause - it was perfect.”

During his time at UWE Bristol between 2021 and 2025, Tommy suffered with depression and anxiety, and overdosed several times. He says he experienced anxiety about lectures, often getting to the front door only to turn around, and turned to alcohol before seminars.

Tommy said he did not fully engage with the mental health support services available to him while he was studying but would recommend that others do so if they need help.

He said: “My educators were extremely helpful and caring, and offered me resources. I didn’t use them, which was from lack of hope and naivety. However, I couldn’t recommend them enough now.

“A lot of the charities I ran for were heavily mental health-focussed, and seeing what they can do for you from afar now, I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

For his 47th marathon in November, Tommy ran 55 laps of his former university campus, Glenside, in aid of Oxfam Asia.

Tommy said: “It felt like a very monumental run. It used to be the campus I didn’t want to be at and I was low there a lot of the time. But in a full circle moment, running my 47th marathon, with the degree I worked so hard to get while I was here secured, it felt very special.

“It was the time I finally realised my accomplishments – and this is something that is so important to being in a good headspace.”

Among the marathons that Tommy completed in 2025, one of the most memorable was around the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and another was in Herefordshire where he recorded a personal best finishing time of 3 hours and 30 minutes with his grandma cheering him on. Of the 52 marathons, he completed one in each of England's 48 counties, with four additional marathons in Cardiff, Istanbul, Dubai and Egypt.

Tommy, who is now spending time travelling around South East Asia, said: “The running part was actually one of the easiest aspects of the challenge – the travelling, planning, charity write ups, packing, filming, editing, rehab, the constant focus I needed, and the questioning myself, was more difficult. But it was all worth it.”

Offering advice for other students facing mental health challenges while studying at university, Tommy said: “Keep on going, because one day it will get better. Keep talking, know your principles – which is the main thing that keeps me happy nowadays – and stick to them, and love yourself. There is so much help out there, there are so many solutions, and you will find a way through. It doesn’t have to be orthodox, it doesn’t have to be right now, but it will come.”