Hello! I’m Steve, a 41-year-old father of two from Leyland and I joined Red Rose Road Runners last November. First, I’d like to say how brilliant and inspiring the other introductions have been. I started running back in early 2015 after a 15-year absence from any sort of exercise. I had been diagnosed with depression and in an effort to try and get myself back on track I had read an article about how running can help you feel happier so I sat down that night and planned a local 5k route and the night after I went out and ran it! Well, I say ran, I can walk that route 15 minutes faster than I went around it that night, but I kept trying and after a few weeks I got around without stopping and then a few weeks later without walking! So far, I think that is my biggest achievement to date and a massive bonus was I was a lot happier and healthier!
I started running with RunSmart the following summer and started going to parkrun where I realised that running is even more fun when you get to chat with other humans! It really does feel like one big family and I cannot thank people enough for their kind words, advice and encouragement and it’s helped me come a long way in a short time. Over the last 12 months I’ve entered a few races and tried pushing myself a bit further and made a lot of new friends. I’ll be doing my first half marathon in May this year. This weekend I’ll be wearing the team shirt for the first time and running the Blackburn Winter Warmer.
Thank you for reading.