Annie Brooks: ‘I Did 12 Challenges In 12 Months To Raise Awareness Of Epilepsy’

03/20/22 • 23 min

Annie Brooks is an award-winning blogger, who has been on a mission to raise awareness of her condition. She has epilepsy in the form of complex, simple and absence seizures. She was only diagnosed in 2012 after years of unknowingly suffering – she can be wide awake, but essentially, experiencing something ridiculously scary and unable to communicate.

Before lockdown, she started doing 12 challenges in 12 months, to increase awareness of epilepsy. "My story is unique, and I hope inspirational, in that despite having a condition like this, you can still live a full active life, including doing triathlons," she says.
In this episode, she speaks about the challenges she did and which ones were the hardest, as well as why the mental challenge was sometimes more difficult than the physical ones.
CHAPTER MARKERS:
1:16: Inspiration behind the challenge
3:26: Preparation
6:03: The physical challenges that pushed me
8:51: The mental challenges to get through
11:05: Finishing the 12 in 12 challenge
13:57: Raising awareness of epilepsy
15:34: Advice for others
20:02: What does defiant optimism mean to you?
20:58: What's next for Annie?

Follow Annie's journey: https://www.talesofanniebean.com/
Support Epilepsy Society: https://epilepsysociety.org.uk/

Follow Annie's journey: https://www.talesofanniebean.com/
Support Epilepsy Society: https://epilepsysociety.org.uk/

Previous Episode

Putney Gumps: ‘We’ve Spent 15 Years Raising Thousands Through Running'

The Putney Gumps are two friends – Johnnie Wraith and Adam Constable – in London, who have been completing various running challenges over the past 15 years to raise money for charity. They've raised more than £250,000.
In 2018, they completed 12 marathons in 12 months and raised over £76,000. Before that, they ran 126 miles over two races within a week, raising well over £36,000. They also ran the 65km Great Strides Ultra Marathon, raising over £10,000. Most recently, in 2021, the pair did 7 marathons in 7 days.
The pair raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Downs Syndrome Association. We sat down with Adam to find out more about the challenges and how the pair have carried on going all these years.
CHAPTER MARKERS:
0:22: Introduction to Adam
1:23: The beginning of our running journey
2:45: Deciding on the challenges
5:59: How they get through the challenges
8:35: 7 marathons in 7 days
11:05: Raising more than £250k
12:35: Inspiration behind the challenges
13:57: The impact of the fundraising
15:29: Advice for others
17:24: Getting through mental blocks
18:56: What’s next for the Putney Gumps
19:47: What does defiant optimism mean to you?

Find out more about them: https://www.putneygumps.co.uk/about
Donate to the Down's Syndrome Association: https://www.putneygumps.co.uk/about
Donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust: https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/

Next Episode

Yvonne Booth: I Created A '10 Peaks In 10 Hours' Challenge For MS

In 2011, Yvonne Booth designed and created the '10 in 10' challenge – to climb 10 peaks in 10 hours in the Lake District.
She designed it as a response to her husband Duncan’s diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010 at the age of 39. Multiple Sclerosis is a debilitating neurological disease with no cure. As a wife and mother, she wanted to do something positive and help raise money for research into this cruel illness.
Since then, Yvonne has run the event once a year – raising money for the MS Society UK. The challenge now sees hundreds of fundraisers climb 10 mountains in 10 hours, and she has also introduced the option to climb 5 mountains in 5 hours.
We caught up with Yvonne to find out more about the event, what it's like to undertake, and how you can get involved.
CHAPTER MARKERS
1:19: How the 10 in 10 came about
6:14: Why climbing mountains?
8:13: What it's like doing 10 in 10
9:57: How people get through it
11:43: Raising money for MS Society UK
15:14: Reaching each peak
16:34: The 2022 challenge
17:51: Advice for others
20:01: What does it mean to Duncan?
21:23: What does defiant optimism mean to you?
23:11: Where to find out more
23:42: Closing remarks