Lillian Dorney completed the AJ Bell Bristol 10k with her father, Christopher Dorney, after a year of weight loss and training.
“We booked the tickets three months ago and now I’ve caught the bug for it.”
“The adrenaline from the crowd and also the realisation of what my body can do now really helped me,” said Dorney, who has lost eight stone over the past year, something she described as her “biggest reason why.”
Dorney detailed the impact her fitness transformation had on her run, explaining that “It takes a while for your brain to catch-up that you’re not unfit anymore.”
“In my head I got quite overwhelmed at the thought of running six miles and then I realised that I could, so leading up to it my goal was just to cross the finish line.”
But it wasn’t just her fitness that got her across the finish line, with the support from the crowd (and the adrenaline alongside that) spurring her on to the end.
“The crowd, the atmosphere, the adrenaline, and the way it made me feel mentally really got me through it.”
There was a sea of colour filling the streets of central Bristol today as runners took part in Great Bristol Run half marathon and 10k. Crowds of spectators were proudly watching on as their loved ones crossed the finish line. Many of them doing it in the name of some fantastic… pic.twitter.com/nCTrdYBGWy
— ITV News West Country (@itvwestcountry) May 10, 2026
The Bristolian stressed the importance of crowds at events such as the Bristol 10k and half-marathon, highlighting that without crowd presence she may not have made it through her run.
“One man shouted, come on this is the last hill, you can do it, and as soon as I heard that I knew that I would get up the hill quickly – and before I knew it I saw a sign saying 800 meters left, and without him saying that I would have thought that I couldn’t do it.”
She also mentioned that, “it was lovely being in a crowd because you knew that every person around you all had a reason as to why they were there and you knew you were around likeminded people.”
Running has become a massive part of not just Dorney’s physical but also her mental health journey over the past year, with her explaining that “I have gone from pulling myself out of a very dark place to then being able to do something like this, it has improved my mental health so much.”
“Running is something you have to stick at because it is one of those things that will make you feel worse before they feel better.”
Though she stressed that it is important to get through those moments because “the elation you feel from that it proves that you’re capable.”
Dorney’s journey doesn’t just stop here though, as the 22-year-old looks ahead to running the Porthcawl 10k on July 5th .
“I spent an awful lot of my childhood in Porthcawl and its one of my favourite places, so being able to do a 10k there, it feels like I’m going back there to reclaim it now that I’m an adult.”
It’s not just about fitness and mental health, but also friendship and community as she is running with one of her Welsh friends, which has “brought us together”, said Dorney.
