'Parkrun?! I'd rather s**t in my hands and clap, mate!!'

You came back! Oh stop it, you! People are going to start talking... (pssst, let them talk 😘)

So… running. An off-the-bat confession: I'm a 'running wanker'. Not just a little bit of one—a fully-fledged, obsessive 'running w****r'. Running has become my release. It’s my source of mindfulness and, paradoxically, my source of physical and mental challenge. But this love affair with running isn’t long-standing. So how did I get here? Stick with it—there’s a point in here somewhere.

Rewind to my school days. I’ve always been active—mostly through football and climbing—but running for sport? Boring, stupid, and honestly, just too hard. In secondary school, I couldn’t avoid it anymore. Cross country in winter, athletics in summer. A few successes in the shorter distances, sure, but I hated it. And that hatred stuck for a long time—until lockdown hit and we were granted 30 minutes of daily freedom to exercise alone.

Before the pandemic, my running CV looked like this:

• An asthma attack near the sand pits on lap two of my first cross country

• Decent 100m (2nd fastest in my year) and 200m (fastest)

• Multiple hamstring and lower back injuries (still a recurring theme)

• 2x Great North Run finisher—impressive, but I hated both. No training, and the second took 2h43 due to a hamstring tear crossing the Tyne Bridge

• 2x 5Ks for charity (Stroke Association and Dogs & Cats Home)

• A solid 20-year hatred of running anything beyond 200m

So how did running become something I can’t live without? How did it become one of the most important things in my life? It’s a million miles (not kilometres—I’m not a lunatic) from my school-day mindset. When I was first asked to do a parkrun, my response was: “Parkrun?! I’d rather shit in my hands and clap, mate.” I couldn’t think of anything worse. Also, I was probably too hungover to go even if I’d been talked into it. Now I’m heading toward my first milestone (25).

Let’s face it—up until age 34, I was the opposite of a poster boy for running. Fast forward to running eight marathons (or longer) in 12 months, being voted Newton Road Runner of the Year 2022 and Coach of the Year 2023. Yes… that’s a Schwarzenegger-sized flex 😎💪

During little Nikki’s house arrest, I was classed as non-clinical staff and had to work from home. I struggled. I work for the NHS and knew I had skills that could’ve helped my colleagues who were battling daily. I needed an escape. I craved achievement—something I used to get from working in improvement, but that had been taken away. So I downloaded the C25K app and used my half-hour of freedom to get out and do something.

I started ticking off achievements: 2 minutes without stopping, then 5, 10, 15. Two miles, 2.5, 5K. Seven weeks in, I ran around Newton with 10 minutes left on my run and, for some reason, went the opposite way from my house. My head thought it was a good idea; my legs were screaming, “Errr… what the fuck are you doing?! We didn’t agree to this.” I ended up running to Cambuslang and back—7.5K without stopping. I was elated. Cloud 9. Like I’d won the London Marathon. One of the few times I felt genuine pride in something I’d accomplished.

Looking back, that was the first big shift in how I saw running—and myself. It gave me the feeling: “I can do really tough things.” It lit a fire, to use a cliché. A fire that’s grown into a consistent string of milestones and challenges (more flexing to come). That was March 2020. What’s ludicrous is that it’s taken me nearly four years to realise I can apply that same mindset to every other part of my life.

The next step was joining a running club. My running club: the award-winning Newton Road Runners. I was in a socially distanced pub with my neighbour from our bubble (remember those?) when the landlord asked if we minded a couple of guys joining our table. We got chatting—they were from a running club. My neighbour piped up: “He’s a runner.” I felt embarrassed. These guys were club runners. I’d just managed 7K a month earlier. They were talking 40-minute 10Ks and trail ultras. I wasn’t a runner—they were. I was a jogger at best.

A few pints later, and promises of “not just any old running club,” I hesitantly agreed to join. I turned up the following Tuesday, nervous to the point of dropping out. I put on my Bridget Jones pants and rocked up, bracing for embarrassment. I chatted to a few early arrivals before being introduced to a coach called Pete—known to the masses as “Sweary Pete”—who’d been standing behind me the whole time. His first words: “Alright, you big f**kin’ Geordie ride?!” No smile. Then, “Which fitba team do you support?” I replied, “Liverpool,” nervously. “Ahh, you’re a good c**t then,” he said, and walked off. I belly laughed.

That exact moment was when I fell in love with Newton Road Runners. I was still nervous as shit, but I knew from that one interaction the club was about more than times and PBs. Improvement is encouraged—and celebrated—but it felt deeper than that. Conversations about running came after chats about our day, the stress of Covid, how I ended up in Scotland, and most importantly for Pete, what football team I supported. A squad photo was taken that day because the club had just received new t-shirts from a local gym sponsor. The only two people not smiling? Me and Sweary Pete. Him because he’s hilariously deadpan. Me because I was trying not to s**t myself.

I’ll talk more about the club in future posts, but joining Newton Road Runners was one of the best things I’ve ever done—even if it was deeply uncomfortable beforehand. Because of it, I’ve gone on to achieve—and help others achieve—some incredible things. And the best part? I’m still improving.

My running CV now looks like this:

• Countless 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons

• 21 parkruns to date

• Over 45 minutes off my first half marathon time in 3 years

• 1300+ miles of running in one year (with 3 months missed due to injury)

• 8 runs over marathon distance between Oct ’22 and Oct ’23

• 3 ultra marathons (50K, 42 miles, and 58 miles)

• £1000s raised for charities including Tommy’s, MIND, White Ribbon, and Meningitis Now (as part of Team Alexis Rose 🌹)

• Newton Road Runner of the Year 2022 (voted by club members)

• Newton Coach of the Year 2023 (selected by the club chair)

• 12 coaches/members trained in Mental Health First Aid

• 1 national club award for contribution to mental wellbeing

OK, you got me—I’m still flexing. But there are three important points I want to make:

1. Change is possible. It’s tough, but if you want it enough, there’s always a way. Just plan and work it out.

2. Growth lives outside your comfort zone. If it doesn’t scare the s**t out of you, it probably won’t change you.

3. Surround yourself with great people. Drop the ego. Being the big fish in a small pond won’t help you grow. Surround yourself with people you admire and respect—they’ll lift you higher.

Running—and Newton Road Runners—have given me all three. Parking the ego and being vulnerable is hard, almost excruciating. But for me, it’s better than being stagnant and underachieving.

Find that thing you’ve always wanted to do. The thing that scares the shit out of you. Whether it’s a 5K, 10K, Hyrox, asking someone out, or asking someone to mentor you—find it, and do it.