The first of a two-part BBC series followed 10 people struggling with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and PTSD, with 54-year-old Nick supporting the runners in training as they faced their fears and worked to overcome their demons.
The instalment focused on an incredible woman and mother Rhian, who suffers with depression after the sudden death of her youngest baby boy.
Just five days after he passed, Rhian’s husband left the house and never came back, tragically committing suicide after being overcome with grief at the death of their son.
Mind Over Marathon viewers watched on in awe as Rhian struggled to overcome her crippling anxiety which prevented her from being able to run alone, thus impeding her training for the London Marathon.
When Nick visited her at home in Wales, he joined her on a jog and offered uplifting support when they arrived back.
As Rhian opened up about her heartbreaking story, Nick said: “You have no idea how amazing I think you are and other people think you are just for surviving.”
Viewers flooded to social media to praise the presenter and the programme in general for its moving portrayal of mental health struggles.
“@MrNickKnowles you were great with that brilliant lady!” one Twitter user said. “It is truly heartbreaking what she’s been through.”
“@MrNickKnowles I’m so glad you told Rhian what I’m sat here thinking; she’s amazing just for surviving and keeping going,” another commented.
In another touching moment, Nick helped marathon trainee Shereece through a particularly low point when her depression overcame her and she struggled to be able to leave the house and get back into training.
Shereece admitted that she didn’t want to accept his offer to have a psychiatrist come and help her through her battle, but Nick had some inspiring words of wisdom for the mother-of-one.
“Getting help from people is not a weakness,” he insisted. “If you were running now and you developed a tight calf muscle, you’d go and see a masseur who would massage it out and get it moving again so that it could repair and you could carry on.
“So at the moment, you’re in a situation where you’re not feeling great and so you talk to somebody who knows how to help you with that until you’re feeling good again. It’s like a massage, it’s just a massage for your head.”
With his insightful comparison of mental health with physical health, Shereece finally accepted the offer of professional help, and soon she returned to join the group in training and even completed the massive six kilometre challenge at the end of the episode.
Later in the episode, Nick reflected on his experience supporting the amazing runners, concluding that “just listening is key”.
Mind Over Marathon part two airs next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.
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