Running for Rob
News
World Mental Health Day 2025: BSU Alum Ed Price discusses grief, friendship and running 65 miles
Friday, 10 October, 2025World Mental Health Day provides an opportune moment to stop and reflect. It is also a chance to raise awareness and remember those we have lost.
Ed Price, a BSU Business Management graduate is doing exactly that this year, completing a challenge that will see him run 65 miles from Bath Spa University all the way to King’s College in Worcester.
The route, spread across three days and taking Ed through various terrains, is designed to celebrate the life of Robin Willis, a fellow BSU graduate who took his own life last year.
Ed and Robin met at the age of 11, on their first day of secondary school in Worcester, with that day marking the start of a friendship that would see them share many experiences together.
Reflecting on his friendship with Rob, Ed said:
“He’s one of those people that I can remember the exact day that we met, on the first day of secondary school.
He was one of those people. I know the cliches always say they lit up a room but he was exactly that. You always felt better going into a conversation with him and always left feeling like you had a strong friendship.
We went to King’s together and then Bath Spa. We graduated together, got our graduation photos together as well. He was a genuinely really good human being.”
Ed won’t be completing his challenge alone, with many of Rob’s friends from Bath Spa and Worcester set to join Ed on various stages of his journey north.
Raising money for MIND, a charity offering support to people facing mental health challenges, Ed is determined that his run isn’t a final note but rather a chance to celebrate the memory of his good friend.
“I want people to look back and not have it be like the end of a good book. I don't want it to be the full stop; I'd like it to have a few chapters after it where people can look back and remember Rob for the man he was.
I've smashed every fundraising target I've set so far. That's nothing to do with me. If people were donating just for me, it would be probably 10% of what it is. It's down to Rob being the man that he was.”
Rob is remembered fondly within the BSU community and beyond, with his own leaf hanging on the student and staff memorial tree, a space that will also mark the starting point of Ed’s run.
Whilst the starting date falls on World Mental Health Day, there’s a much more poignant reason for Ed beginning on October 10:
“I chose that weekend because it was the closest I could get to Rob’s birthday. I wanted to turn what could be a dark day into one of celebration. We’re all going for drinks in Worcester after to raise a toast in Rob’s memory.”
Rob’s passing acts a tragic reminder that conversation can be so important, a topic particularly prevalent on World Mental Health Day. Reflecting on this, Ed said:
“Something as tragic as that makes you realise that those conversations are very important. You look back and think maybe there was a missed opportunity to ask a question and find out if everything was okay.
You don’t have to suffer in silence and I think rather than it being reactive to something tragic happening, we need to be more proactive about talking to each other.
I look back and all I have are good memories of Rob. One of the easiest things to remember was his smile and his laugh. One of the main reasons I’m doing this event is to put a positive spin on a tragic event and remember Rob for the man he was and all the good memories he left behind.”
You can follow Ed’s journey on his Instagram and donate to his fundraising page, and everyone at Bath Spa University wishes Ed all the best with his challenge.
Bath Spa University offers a range of support to students and staff struggling with their mental health. More information can be found on our wellbeing page.