My Running Journey - by Simon Chalmers

My journey in to running has been a gradual one.  I was 17st (107kg) and loved a doner pizza. I signed up for a 10k to raise money for an alzheimer charity, and within a couple of weeks people were commenting on the weight I’ve lost. 

I stuck at it and my times soon started getting quicker as I got lighter and it wasn't long before I caught the bug.  Initially I never thought i'd get in to running as every step was a struggle, but once I found my pace I started enjoying it, and I made it round my first 10k in 55mins which I was really happy with.

I moved house to a new village in the north east of Scotland called St Cyrus and there was no running club here or in any of the neighbouring towns, so I put an advert in the newsletter to see if anyone wanted to start a running group.... I didn’t receive a single bite. Every Thursday i'd sit at the wall outside the village hall, as advertised in the newsletter and nobody ever came... It was a lonely pursuit. The guys at my work were delighted... next thing there were stickers on my coveralls “St. Cyrus Solo, running club”.  I did the sensible thing, and designed a logo with "St. Cyrus Solos" and had a vest printed for the next race I did, and I put a second advert in the newsletter saying the St Cyrus Solos had achieved 100% attendance at a few races with Pb’s all round and ended the column stating I was STILL the only member.

I got 2 bites this time, Nicola and Elaine who are club members still and both form part of the committee.  Fast forward 2 years and we now have 40 members, many who travel a distance to run with us and all who seem happy to wear our club kit and fly the flag at races across the country.  We have a real mixed bag - a few ultra runners, and also quite a few plodders.  The club organises 2 fun runs in the village each year, and both get a great buy-in from our little community.  I'm immensely proud of every member of the club and really enjoy sharing their achievements with them, whether its a parkrun PB, a first 10k or even just running the whole training night without stopping to walk up a hill for the first time... After all - the club mantra is "Hills are your friends".  

Below photos are me at my heaviest, then me at my lightest, after completing my 1:29 Half marathon, and then a selfie with the running club.  Look us up on facebook - St. Cyrus solos.