Age
42
Occupation
In 2011 I set up a national charity which used football as a means of improving the lives of socially excluded people. I then oversaw a merger of this charity with the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint in 2014, where I am now a director. The work I oversee uses an innovative approach which blends practical, artistic, culinary and sports skills with important life skills. It’s proven to transform young lives positively, giving our young people both the tools and the confidence they need to move their lives forwards.
Previously I spent four years at Shelter as National Campaigns Manager, before working as a freelance major project, campaigns and events consultant. My clients included Glastonbury Festival, where I coordinated the John Peel Stage. I also worked closely with Bob Wilson and his charity the Willow Foundation when I managed the Bob Wilson Soccer Cycle.
Reason you started running?
In 2016 a spinal injury threatened to wreck my life. I underwent major spinal surgery to replace a disc in my neck and repair two vertebrae, but was told that I could never play contact sport again. During my rehabilitation I worked really hard on my fitness, primarily through running.
This was an incredibly tough time for me. I have never hidden my struggle with depression, and any enforced inactivity has always had a significant negative impact on my mental health. But, as I became fitter and fitter, and the more I ran, I realised that I had never felt more in control of my mind.
After the operation, my passion for running grew and grew, and I was encouraged to join my local running club. Although it may surprise many of you, I am naturally quite shy, and my anxiety prevented me attending any Striders sessions for several months after becoming a member. I finally reached out on the Facebook page in early 2018, and a few friendly people invited me down to meet them at parkrun that Saturday. Within 5 minutes of chatting to Tim Searle (after a tough 19:58 run) I knew I had made the right decision. That said, I am still not entirely sure he wasn’t just grooming me for the Runsketeers.
Favourite race distance?
Although I love a fast 5K (with my PB now almost exactly 3 minutes faster than that first parkrun), my favourite race distance is probably a half marathon. For me it is a perfect balance between speed and endurance. Least favourite race distance is a much easier decision for me; a marathon.
Favourite running route and race?
One of my first ever races was the Royal Parks Half Marathon, and it remains my favourite. One of the main reasons for this is the route, which takes you past some iconic London landmarks, as well as through the city’s beautiful parks, always with an incredible atmosphere.
Working with the Running Charity and Lululemon I was fortunate enough to head up a very special project as part of the 2019 Royal Parks Half. Eight young people experiencing homelessness were trained and mentored for three months in the lead up, before running alongside their mentors on race day. Running the route with a focus on supporting Youssef, who I was mentoring, was far more satisfying than running just for myself.
During the project I was also asked to model the RPH range for Lululemon. This was one of three paid modelling jobs I had around running last year. There’s clearly a market for ‘heavily tattooed, bearded, 40-something runners’.
This year I am privileged to have been asked to be a Royal Parks Half Marathon ambassador, and with the race not scheduled to take place until October, I am hopeful that I will be able to play my part in the event.
The Brighton Half Marathon comes a close second, with some of my best runs, including a couple of PBs, coming here. This year’s event, with 50mph headwinds, was not one of my favourites however.
Running goals?
At the start of the year I set myself a few challenges. The first was to be even more involved with Striders, from volunteering to running, and I’ve even put my hat in the ring to be the next XC captain. Some of my proudest running moments have been as part of Striders medal-winning teams, and I also very much want to keep this going.
As part of this increased focus on Striders, I also decided that I would have a proper crack at the Club Championships this year. Two long periods of injury last year meant that I could only complete four of the 50 point races, but with a new training plan, a stronger and faster body, and a dogged determination to run in every 50 point race possible this year, I had managed to be in first place after four months, albeit with Doug and Jordan breathing down my neck. But, to paraphrase Lloyd Bridges, it looks like I picked the wrong year to try and win the club champs.
Hopefully my PB challenges can still be achieved once racing restarts, with a sub 36 minute 10K, and a sub 80 minute Half Marathon, both still very much in my sights. For someone who hates marathons I still keep signing up to run them… and I also hope to have a crack at 2:50 in New York in November.
How often do you train?
I try and train every day, with five of the seven days filled with running – including track or Race With Striders Green on a Tuesday, and a social run with the 8 minute group on the Thursday – with my days off running spent focusing on cross training or S&C. During an injury lay-off last year I changed my training routine to fit an 80:20 format, with around 80% of my running at an easy pace, and only around 20% at effort. This has definitely helped, though I am terrible at ensuring I do my S&C sessions, as I much prefer running to all other training. I have been working closely with Allie Park-Crowne for the last year, and she has really helped me focus my training, though I’m still not sure her insistence that ‘it’s scary how quick you would be if your body wasn’t so broken, and you didn’t have such a weak core’ is that motivational.
What motivates you?
I would be lying if I said that the biggest motivating factor for me running wasn’t self-improvement. There are very few sports you can take up in your late 30s and expect to see improvement during your 40s, but running is certainly one of them. For someone who suffers from existential anxiety, this is incredibly helpful.
Although I am hideously competitive, this is primarily reserved for bettering myself when it comes to running. OK, and perhaps a couple of my good mates. They know who they are.
What really motivates me is the driver to get better, to get quicker. Once this is no longer possible, I plan to go longer. I already have my 50s bookmarked for ultra running.
What motivates me to be an active Strider is a different question though. Running might have given me a real sense of purpose, more fulfilment in life, and improved physical and mental health, but Striders has given me a sense of belonging unlike anything else in my life. There are too many people to thank individually, but I am incredibly grateful for the genuine connection I have with so many of my fellow Striders. Most of whom will never know how important they are to me.
More than anything I am motivated by my desire to see a fairer society. My current role at Centrepoint regularly shows me the transformative power of sport, but, as I am not involved in the operational side of our work, I rarely see this first-hand. Through my voluntary work with the Running Charity and Feltham Prison, I am able to use my passion for running to help positively impact on the lives of others. There is nothing more motivating to me than that.
Most memorable run/race?
In the few years I’ve been running there have already been so many memorable races. Although I really don’t enjoy running marathons, all three which I have completed have been truly memorable. London in 2018 being the hardest, and definitely the hottest. After which I vomited. Ljubljana later that same year being run in the middle of a fierce electric storm, complete with torrential rain throughout. After which I cried and vomited. And then Valencia, in December of last year, a race which Mike Martin also highlighted in this section of his profile. Being part of such an amazingly supportive group of Striders who travelled across to Spain (as well as my good friend Jimmy, an honorary Strider for the week) was incredible, and I was proud to wear my Striders vest when I finally broke the 3-hour mark. What made it even more special was that Ian Hirth, Seb Rowe, Mike, Jimmy and I all finished within 40 seconds of each other. I neither vomited nor cried after finishing this time, though I did almost collapse back over the finish line with crippling hamstring cramp.
As an Arsenal fan it also was pretty memorable to be asked by Joe.co.uk and Adidas to be a part of a very different type of race at the Emirates, but not even this is my most memorable race.
No, my most memorable race to date was the 2019 South of England XC Championships at Parliament Hill. A few of my closest friends at Striders, including several of the Runsketeers, Rich Evans and Doug Hobson, had convinced me sign up for XC season, and from October to January I had ‘enjoyed’ the challenging hills, mud and rain of the Chiltern League. From the start of the season I had heard whispers of Parliament Hill, and I excitedly put my name down to take part in this legendary race as soon as I could. For those of you who have not run Parliament Hill, there are no words for it. OK, perhaps one. Brutal. Having said this, the sense of achievement I felt having finished the race was unlike any other, and I have never felt more of a sense of camaraderie and connection with other runners than I did that day. Especially with my fellow Striders, who for me are the most important element of the incredible and inspirational running community that I am privileged to have become part of.
Injuries?
Where to start? Turns out that starting serious running in the final year of your 30s, with 1,000 miles completed in that first year, and with a body ravaged by years of playing football, will lead to injuries. As with a lot of novice runners, I struggled with ITB and knee issues in the early months, before achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis saw me DNF at the Pednor 5 last year, complete with roadside (emotional) breakdown.
Another period off my feet followed, with an acute case of tibialis anterior tendonitis, which flared up after probably my best ever run for Striders in the Hatfield 5K series (the joy of finishing close to Steve Buckle, with a 30 second PB, quickly went away when I couldn’t walk the next day!). Since then I have been relatively injury-free, helped by weekly physio and deep tissue massage, a balanced plan to strengthen weak areas and avoid over-training, and careful management of any minor injuries. Most of all I have started listening to my body.
Other hobbies?
I am an avid Arsenal season-ticket holder, and very passionate about football, having played to semi-professional level during my 20s. I am also a very occasional writer on the subject, and am incredibly proud that my work has appeared in a few national publications.
I love cooking, and in 2006 made it all the way to the quarter finals of Masterchef, where I was given the moniker ‘experimental Gareth’. Something which makes me sound a lot more interesting than I actually am. Some Striders can attest to the quality of my chocolate fondants though.
I also like a tattoo. But I think that people might already have clocked this.
Guilty pleasure?
Don’t feel particularly guilty about this, but I love a bit of Bonnie Tyler. I even have a tattoo of her face. It’s an homage to Total Eclipse of the Heart, the greatest song ever written. If you haven’t seen this, or my ‘Biggie Smalls’, then you just need to run closer to me.
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