NatWest Group is a proud partner of Team GB for the upcoming 2024 Olympics taking place in Paris this summer.
As Team GB prepares for the Games, financial partner NatWest Group and its colleagues have been inspired to take on some sporting challenges of their own, helping communities across the UK along the way.
Lauren’s story
Lauren Base, Marketing Manager at NatWest, who has a passion for running, is proudly taking on the NatWest Team GB Baton Relay this summer.
Here, she recalls how her love of running has helped her overcome struggles she’s been through and achieve new goals.
“All my life I’ve been a keen runner – completing three London Marathons and raising thousands for good causes,” said Lauren.
“I took a break for a few years and turned my fitness to spinning and the gym. In 2017 I had my first daughter. After an amazing pregnancy I developed postnatal depression and anxiety. I didn’t know who to turn to at the time, but the one thing I knew would always be there for me were the sidewalks.
“So, I dusted off my running shoes, dug deep and rekindled my love for hitting the pavements; it was and still is my therapy. It’s helped me overcome so many demons and it’s helped my mind and body find a place which I once never knew it could – peace.
“When I run, I let my mind knock out the mental plates that are spinning, and when I get home, I’m ready to face the day as a mom and as a colleague.”
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Lauren’s love of running has not only helped her get a handle on her mental health and improve her fitness, but it has also helped her achieve career goals she had believed she couldn’t reach.
She shared, “Running has also helped me find the inner confidence to approach not only my home life in a mentally fit and strong way, but also my work life. After returning to work after the birth of my second daughter, I knew I wanted pursue my dream career in marketing – something I never had the confidence to go out and grab with both hands.
“After many miles of wondering in my head why I didn’t have the confidence, one day on a run I told myself ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to work hard and prove that I’m capable of anything. After all running helped me overcome many mental demons and now it helped me pursue a dream for almost three years and I am now a marketing manager and I have never been happier.
“Running is so much more to me than a sport—it’s my therapist, my biggest internal cheerleader, and it helps me find grounding when I’ve sometimes struggled to find myself.”
Lauren will be channeling her passion for running to support Team GB in NatWest’s Baton Relay while raising money for a cause very close to her heart.
She added: “I will be running the NatWest Team GB Baton Relay and raising money for my best friend’s little boy, Dylan, who is three years old and has cerebral palsy, visual impairment and global developmental delay as a result of a brain bleed when he was born at 30 weeks.”
Any donations will go towards ongoing physical therapy to support Dylan’s development. You can donate to Lauren’s fundraiser here.
