‘I could go on forever about the mental health benefits of walking’

Going for a mindful stroll probably wasn’t on your list of things that rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson was doing before a big game.

But, in fact, that’s exactly what he was up to.

Why, you ask?

Namely, to help him feel grounded ahead of a mentally and physically demanding 80 minutes on the rugby field.

“With walking, the relaxation is so important,” he says. “There’s the surroundings of nature, which brings you back to a slower tempo, a sense of calm and being, which is so much more powerful than getting lost in doing.”

Beyond that, Wilkinson says: “I could go on forever about the mental health benefits of walking.”

He lists a few of them as being out in the fresh air and simply moving your body and using it as a de-stressor.

“You come to experience a walk, not to do a walk.”

As an advocate for walking and its health benefits, Wilkinson took part in his first-ever walk at parkrun earlier this month to help Vitality and parkrun celebrate the relaunch of its walking initiative.

We followed him on his journey and you can too by watching the video below. 

Related: Vitality helps parkrun smash walking record in historic weekend