Walking through Milton Country Park near my home in Cambridge one morning in the bitterly cold first week of January this year, I felt a sense of peace.

The grass was crunchy underfoot while the trees sparkled with frost. It was so bright, beautiful and invigorating that I stopped to take a video. 

Perhaps most incredibly though, despite the temperature hovering somewhere around the 1°C mark, I bumped into three people during my 90-minute walk. And I spoke to each and every one of them.

For me, a walk in wintertime often turns out to be a more social affair; I love to connect with and help people.

That’s why I created RED January, to inspire everyone to set a daily movement challenge that works for you and your lifestyle and to simply ‘Rise Every Day’.

It all started 10 years ago when I stepped into my mother’s bedroom and invited her to join me in a walking challenge.

At that time she was 52 and a teaching assistant. However, she had been signed off work with severe depression and was struggling to get the motivation to take a step out of bed, especially during the colder months.

Mum wasn’t alone in this – Sport England research shows a marked decline in any sort of adult activity over the winter months – because the darker days and longer nights can cause a physical and emotional setback. 

The impact of reduced sunlight on our hormones and vitamins in the body has been linked to depression, too.

But the thought of another winter of my mum being really unwell with her mental health was just too much, so I vowed to take action.

I shared with her that we had signed up to walk the distance of a marathon in March, something we’d need to train for. Walking is an activity my mum used to really enjoy – and we would do it together. 

That January, my mum and I started by setting little walking challenges: First was to get out of bed, walk to the shower, then outdoors. It was small steps, but we took them together.

Gradually, in our daily phone calls, Mum dropped hints that she had been out of bed and that she’d found her old hiking boots. And then one day, I phoned home and was told she was out with the dog. It was a huge moment for my mum.

She was finally feeling more like herself again. As for me, I felt like I was getting my mum back: My adventurous, outdoorsy, funny mum.

I knew that my mum wasn’t alone in experiencing challenging winters. Whether we experience mental health challenges or not, winter can be a testing time of year – and so RED January was born.

The focus is on ‘moving every day, to beat the winter blues away’. After sharing the idea with my mum – who loved it – I told some close friends, who all helped me launch it. From the logo to word of mouth, there was a small but mighty community working to get the word out.

Since then, RED has grown into a global movement.

We now have a huge community – complete with families, schools and workplaces – doing things together and sharing their experience and achievements, no matter how small.

The majority of ‘REDers’ are motivated to support their own mental health and wellbeing; and our members range vastly in age. Our youngest is four-year-old Jack who does laps of the school playground every weekday between November and February. While Brenda, who is 98, enjoys daily dog walks in Wales.

Research from the University of Oxford even showed that 74% of the RED community are more active than usual during the month.

It’s not just the physical benefits that our members love either. More than 50% of participants experience less stress and reduced signs of depressive symptoms.

I’ve had all sorts of messages from participants about how embracing the movement has been a real boost to self-esteem and self-confidence. Some tell me how they’ve gone for a job they never thought themselves capable of, or have started a new class, or taken steps towards something they’ve always dreamed of doing. 

Other participants raise money for charity alongside completing these challenges – and we’ve raised £3.2 million so far. 

Just the other day, I was speaking to a dad who signed up this year and he told me all about how doing RED January had really enriched his relationship with his son. It’s so heart-warming to hear those positive stories; they remind me exactly why I started this community initiative.

I didn’t do it for the accolades – never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d one day step inside Windsor Castle to receive an MBE ‘for services to the nation’s physical and mental health’ – all I wanted was to help my mum.

Today she still supports her mental health with daily walks and is still very much at the heart of the community. It’s so special that we are now part of a community of over 270,000 people who no longer dread winter.

Instead, we get up and get moving despite the cold, dark weather outside. We build connections with people walking their dogs and talk about how being in the open air helps our wellbeing.

And as another January draws to a close, I feel so proud of the community. Together, we’ve turned a typically challenging time of year into something bright and positive!

This year we partnered with Mind Over Mountains – a mental health charity that provides walks and well-being retreats where the therapeutic benefits of the open air are complemented with trained counsellors to help people open up in an unpressured setting. It was incredibly moving to see so many ‘REDers’ not only choosing to support their own wellbeing, but raise funds to support others.

The RED philosophy carries on year-round, too. Over 70% of our community are more likely to continue the healthy physical activity habits they formed in January, if they’re given support to do so; and we’re all here to support and inspire. 

We can turn January into something to look forward to; so long as we’re ready to rise up and be part of something special.

(As told to Mik Barton, Mind Over Mountains charity)

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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