Man whose panic attacks made him feel like he was ‘dying’ set to run from Edinburgh to London for men’s mental health

A man who found that running helped him cope with panic attacks, anxiety and depression is set to run 400 miles from Edinburgh to London for charity.

Harry Clough, a 27-year-old entrepreneur from the Scottish Borders, says he has suffered from anxiety and depression since his first year at Oxford Brookes University, where he studied business and management.

He repeatedly experienced panic attacks, forcing him to go to A&E on several occasions between 2018 and 2020, thinking he was “dying” from a heart attack.

However, doctors told him that there was nothing wrong with his heart, leaving Harry to eventually work out that the cause was his mental health.

Although the issues were temporarily resolved during Covid when he spent time in the Scottish countryside locked down with a friend, they returned with normal life and Harry was forced to confront the issue.

After trying therapy, he discovered that persistent exercise helped calm his mind and reduce his anxiety.

To honour the difference that running has made to his mental health, Harry is currently preparing to run over 400 miles from Edinburgh to London in aid of Movember, the world’s leading men’s health charity.

“I’m really nervous. I go through peaks and troughs, thinking: ‘Damn, what have I got myself into?’” Harry told PA Real Life.

“I struggled with mental health for a long time and exercise has helped me so much.

“I hope I can show others that they’re not alone in their struggle and that exercise may help them deal with their issues too.”

This is not Harry’s first foray into distance running, however.

In November 2024, he undertook the mammoth challenge of running the London Underground lines one by one, a total distance of 250 miles.

In the process, he raised over £7,000 for Movember, and would get up at 4am to run before going to work in business development.

“It was really tough,” he said of the challenge last autumn.

“But the highlight was running with friends who’d come and join me, sharing our mental health stories, and seeing the whole of London.”

Harry, who grew up in the Scottish Borders, always struggled with focusing at school.

Many of his reports would read something along the lines of: “Harry can’t sit still”, and the misunderstood issue caused him to be expelled from his senior school at the age of 16.

After completing his A Levels elsewhere, Harry began his first year of study at Oxford Brookes University in 2017, working in events to earn some extra money.

Around the same time, he experienced some family issues, which compounded with the academic and social pressures of university life to cause serious mental health issues.

“I always had anxiety in me but it really came out at uni. I felt awful all the time,” he said.

“I had a tight chest every day, found it hard to breathe and I was convinced that people simply didn’t like me. I felt very lonely and scared.”

Harry, who said he had “heard of anxiety but I never thought I had it”, was unaware that his issues were caused by his mental health.

He experienced his first panic attack in 2018, but mistook it for a heart attack, rushing himself to A&E.

“I literally thought I was dying,” he recalled.

Panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks.

Often lasting up to 20 minutes, symptoms include “racing heartbeat, nausea, shortness of breath, a choking sensation, a fear of dread or dying” among many others, according to the NHS.

With reassurance from doctors that he was not having a heart attack, Harry was sent on his way, but he continued to suffer from regular panic attacks, and a fear that they could strike at any time, throughout his three years at university.

Harry graduated in June 2020 during Covid, and he says the months spent with a friend in the Scottish countryside without any social pressure seemed to “completely cure” his mental health issues, and he felt the best he had in years.

However, when he returned to normal life, moving to London in 2021, the problems returned, forcing him to find a solution.

“I began to realise there were certain things that made my anxiety worse,” he said.

“Coffee made me unbelievably focused and productive for 45 minutes, then I’d crash and feel anxious, so I stopped drinking that. I also realised alcohol did not help my mental health, so I drink much less now.

“So much of dealing with mental health struggles is hearing about what worked for other people and trying it.

“That’s how I realised that exercise really helped. I’ve been exercising ever since.”

In June 2025, Harry left his job to set up his own business, developing a powdered drink to help people like himself.

“I tried so many different drinks after I stopped drinking coffee, searching for something that would give me a buzz and improve concentration but wouldn’t make me anxious.

“I found lots of ingredients but they were expensive and hard to come by.

“I combined the best into something that would give you natural energy while also calming you. I’ve called it Harry Can’t Sit Still.”

It includes matcha green tea which gives “clean” energy and helps detox the body, Lion’s Mane, which “supports brain health and memory”, magnesium for relaxation, L-Theanine, which “enhances focus while keeping you relaxed,” and sodium potassium to aid hydration and brain function.

This year, Harry is taking time out of his business to run from Edinburgh to London in aid of Movember.

Covering 400 miles in 12 days, he says the run will be a level up from his previous challenge.

He will be running along roads and footpaths south from the Scottish capital, through the Borders and the cruel, exposed hills of the Pennines, where he fears the November conditions will make running very difficult.

He has found friends or pubs along the way to put him up, but he will be doing the entire run on his own, fully unsupported, meaning he will be carrying around 15kg of food, water, and clothing on his back as he runs around 60km per day.

“I’ll also be running a lot of it in the dark as I’ll be up at 5am and it won’t be light until seven to eight,” he said.

To make the challenge even harder, he will be running dressed as a mobile phone, Mario and a third “mystery costume”.

Still, Harry is excited to take on the challenge and is confident he will make it.

He sets off on his journey on October 26.

Anne-Cecile Berthier, Movember’s country director for UK and Europe, said: “We’re blown away by Harry’s commitment to Movember and the incredible effort he’s putting in to support men’s health.

“It’s people like Harry who bring Movember to life, inspiring others to take action, have conversations, and support the men in their lives.”

To find out more, visit Harry’s fundraiser here: uk.movember.com/mospace/14165262?