‘I was just 34 when my world flipped upside down, then I discovered running’

Rhiannon Bending, from Wales, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RMMS) after a simple unknown symptom presented itself.

She used her power of determination to turn the massive change of lifestyle into something positive, returning to good health with happiness and hope… and a good pair of running trainers.

After a stressful time in the summer of 2024, she started to feel a lot of pressure in her sinuses, assuming she was coming down with sinusitis or the flu.

‘I went home to bed hoping that some rest would make me feel better. Unfortunately, though over the next three weeks, I deteriorated. I was slow in my movements, my balance was horrendous, my left leg felt heavy and eventually, I couldn’t lift it off the ground at all.’

Rhiannon had heard about how stress can manifest itself physically, so she took some time off to rest and recharge but more alarming symptoms were yet to come.

‘It was the neurological symptoms – my head felt like it was under water and I couldn’t hear what people were saying. When they spoke to me, it was like there was a five-second delay in me being able to comprehend anything.’

She went to multiple doctors and was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis (inflammation of the inner ear) and vertigo..

Over the course of three weeks, she lost 7kg due to sickness, lost her ability to chew food because her face was numb down one side and she had no power in her bite.

‘I woke up with the worst pain in my head that I had ever felt. I knew this wasn’t right so I tried to reach for my phone, but my arms wouldn’t respond to my brain. Then the muscles in my face on the left side contracted and released, and as they released, the entire left side of my body dropped..

‘I was in serious trouble but couldn’t do anything about it.’

Utter confusion

Rhiannon worried she was having a stroke or catastrophic bleed on the brain but as quickly as the pain hit her, it vanished and she was left with an overwhelming, euphoric feeling with the urge to go to sleep.

‘There was no anxiety. No fighting. Just peaceful sleep.’

The next moments were a blur of memories as she was rushed to A&E, upset for her mum after hearing words like ‘stroke’, ‘brain tumour’ and meningitis.’ However, Rhiannon still couldn’t lift her head or open her mouth.

Over the course of the next eight days, she had MRIs, CTs, x-rays, an array of neurological testing and a lumbar puncture.

‘My vertigo and eyesight were so bad that things on my right were appearing on my left and I would see people talking to me that were on the other side of the room. I couldn’t trust my brain or my body.

‘Curled in a hospital bed, too afraid to move, I just waited. Dreaming of my casual runs around the park, utterly heartbroken that I took it all for granted and totally unaware of what was waiting for me just around the corner..

‘With no answers, I eventually improved enough to go home. I had gone from being bed bound to walking with an umbrella that I used as a walking stick. I wouldn’t leave my house.

‘I didn’t want people to see me. I was a person who was once known for excessive gym use and half marathons, and being full of life, to now needing help with daily activities. I had no answers to give people and no answers for myself.’

By 25 August, 72 days after her first symptom she stood up from her sofa when she realised something; there was no dizziness, there was no nausea, no vomiting, no double vision, no lazy left leg. Nothing.

‘I was healed. I’d recovered by some miracle. But after 72 days you can’t tell what’s normal and what isn’t anymore. My movements were slower because now I was too afraid to do anything in case I set something off and brought it all back.

‘I walked around my house and garden multiple times, I jumped, I kicked my leg, I spun in a circle in my kitchen much to my dog’s delight and amusement. I text my personal trainer, Nathan and said ‘gym?’ I missed him so much.’

Making it official

But on 30 September everything changed.

‘I had my appointment with the neurologist where she dropped those two words that will stay with me for life, ‘multiple sclerosis’.

‘I can’t remember anything else from the appointment. I’m so grateful my mum was with me. She reiterated every word the doctor said back to me.

‘I sat in utter shock at the speed of which I went from training for my third half marathon to sitting in a clinic, having a treatment to destroy parts of my immune system for a lifelong disease that I just got told I had one random Monday.’

It was at this appointment Rhiannon decided she would get herself back to the gym, running and dancing.

‘I would go for it and I would never stop. I would do whatever it took for me to get my physical fitness back and I’d do everything in my power to never let it go.’

Over the course of the next few months, she slowly got back in the gym.

‘My stamina was appalling and the fatigue was a monster. My personal trainer, Nathan, knew more about MS than I did and stayed by my side and helped me rebuild my strength. I’ll never be able to thank him for getting me back in there.

‘Nathan was by my side while I tackled my first box jump or when I ran on the treadmill for the first time. Encouraging me and supporting my every step. When I first started running, I would get panic attacks. I couldn’t tell the difference between ‘gym legs’ and ‘MS legs’ anymore but I made a deal with myself that I was going to persevere.’

While Rhiannon has technically made a full recovery, the repercussions of the damage caused during the ‘freak flare’ is something she must learn to navigate.

‘If I don’t get enough rest, I feel like I’m on a ship, out at sea, during a storm. I can’t look down and directly up because of my dizziness and I’ve had to learn to chew on the right side of my mouth.

‘My brain fog is at times, embarrassing. I sound drunk trying to remember words and ‘let me get there by myself’ has almost become my catchphrase while I search my brain for a memory, object or word.’

And it’s so much more than just physical. “I have dark moments when I’m tired – I get this heavy fog that sets in. I call her Sad Rhi, and she isn’t very hopeful.

‘She’s ruled by fear and anxiety and only appears when I’m really run down. Calling her Sad Rhi helps me remember that she’s just another symptom, either from the MS itself or just from the trauma of 2024. I sleep, I do things I love, I take care of myself and she’s gone by morning.’

Focus on the future

Having something to pour all her focus into really helps so that’s exactly what she did. Rhiannon decided to embark on an epic marathon challenge – the Superhalfs Series. Six half marathons in Lisbon, Prague, Copenhagen, Cardiff, Valencia and Berlin.

‘Years ago, when I’d started running, my cousin told me about something called the SuperHalfs – six half marathons across Europe for a really big medal. I had no hope, six half marathons? That’s insane! Until I was diagnosed, and then all of a sudden, these tiny little list of reasons why I couldn’t, disappeared.

‘Why not? Why not do the things we want to do? A half marathon isn’t going to hurt anyone, I have no idea what my future looks like, I’m too new to this diagnosis and I spent far too long on Google. So, I decided to spend my life actively pouring my time into my passions and things that make me happy.

‘I want to do the SuperHalfs, the sense of achievement of doing these runs is almost one I can’t comprehend. I grew up overweight and unhealthy; I finally got myself into great shape and was almost taken out by my own immune system.

‘Having my physical ability snatched from me left a wound that will not heal. I think about it all the time while navigating this fine line of feeling grateful for my recovery. To go from bed bound to super half runner is a feeling I can’t articulate because at the tail end of 2025, I ran the Cardiff Half marathon, and I cried the entire second half.

‘I cried for every moment I thought my life was over, I cried for every time I pleaded with the universe to let me run again and I think I cried because I hadn’t done a lot of it during the entire ordeal.’

Rhiannon chose to run for the MS-UK. ‘I was approached by multiple MS charities after my diagnosis and offered counselling, meetings, education days and friendly faces. I can’t imagine where I would be had I not been relentlessly welcomed by the MS community.’

Now with Cardiff ticked off, Rhiannon hopes to tackle Lisbon in March 2027.

‘This is why I feel so passionately about doing these SuperHalfs for MS-UK.  Their factual and accurate information stops my anxiety spirals at 3am on Google, and their friendly faces and endless offers of help are invaluable.

‘My wish for anyone going through an MS diagnosis is that you find the factual websites first, speak to the experts before you fall down the Google rabbit hole.

‘Find something you love, that makes you happy and do it with your entire soul. Almost like taking revenge on MS, listen to your body. Your body will tell you what it needs, rest when you need to and don’t let others put limitations on you.’

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