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Ultramarathon runner Allie Bailey is the first woman to have run the length of the Panama Canal and has completed more than 200 marathons and almost 80 ultramarathons.

Yet for years she was struggling with addiction and depression, and says she was using running to try to prove to herself that she didn’t have a problem with alcohol.

Allie joined Emma Barnett on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and spoke about her new book, There Is No Wall. She says that writing down her experiences helped her to ‘wriggle out of it’.

She said that whilst she finds running ‘therapeutic’ and it’s helped her mental health, it wasn’t a cure-all. She hopes that the book will help others in recovery to feel seen and heard.

Allie also spoke about the joy of running through beautiful landscapes, and the support and community she found through sport.

You can listen back to the full interview with Allie Bailey on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sounds – it’s the Woman’s Hour episode from 6 February.