Back in 2016 I was doing the Moon walk with a few friends and in the middle of the walk in the early hours of the morning one friend invited me to join K&D running club. I had run before for a few years but only on my own and never in a group. I had been doing parkrun and seen many people but still ran on my own as I wasn’t brave enough to talk to others around me.

So in May 2016 I braved it and attended a Wednesday night at K&D. I’m really shy around people I don’t know, but I was meeting my friend there so I went a head and gave it a go. I became hooked really quickly. Everyone was really friendly; I was chatting with people I wouldn’t normally talk to and at the same time I was getting fit. I was then getting invited to other running occasions and finding myself having a laugh about all and nothing, as well as getting fit, and our amazing running leader was showing me areas of the local vicinity I never knew existed (all part of the fun). Parkrun no longer felt lonely and isolated and I was feeling more confident in talking to others I had met through running, I was volunteering more (soon to be run director) and finding myself cheering on and supporting others. These are all things I wouldn’t have done prior to joining a group. Read more