There’s only one thing better than running and that’s running with friends, says KSN Editor Steve Wolfe.

On Sunday I embarked on my first ever half marathon – the Dartford Half Marathon to be precise and it will be an event thay lives long in my memory.

As part of my preparations for running the London Marathon in little over five weeks time, taking on the challenge of a half marathon seemed like the perfect way to get some miles into my legs and used to running in traffic.

I’ll rewind the clock a bit to those that don’t know my story. Slightly overweight, middle aged bloke, probably going through a mid-life crisis, takes up running to escape from the stresses of life, but to see whether there was still life in the old dog.

That was about eighteen months ago, not long after my 40th birthday and in that time I’ve run the Brighton Marathon for CRY UK, clocked up almost fifty parkruns, ran an unofficial marathon with Ben Smith who is running 401 marathons in 401 days and most importantly shifted a few pounds whilst getting fit.

The biggest win though in that time is that I’ve made some new and lifelong friends.

Running can be a very solitary affair and sometimes there’s nothing better than just sticking your trainers on and going, but it can be awfully lonely at times.

That’s why I cherish every time I get to run with someone else. From the early evening runs with mums from school to late night dashes with friends and parkruns on Saturday mornings, they’re all enjoyable.

Having said I’d never run another marathon again within seconds of completing Brighton, my mind was already turning towards London and how could I get myself on the start line.

In the end, the decision to run for Demelza Hospice Care for Children was an easy one as I’ve been to their home in Sittingbourne and it’s an incredibly inspiring place.

With my London place secured, I found my running was starting to rub off on others and it wasn’t long before I was joined on Saturday mornings at parkrun.

Not that I’d ever dare suggest I was a role model, but I’d like to think I was able to inspire others. If they could see I could do it, then why couldn’t they?

Weeks and months of running passed and going into the New Year, my thoughts turned towards the Dartford Half Marathon and it wasn’t long before good friends Lee Allen and Brendon Davey had signed up too.

These two guys have been a real inspiration to me and have kept me going when I needed the support the most (not that I ever tell them that – I am a bloke after all).

We’d soon got our running schedule mapped out. Lee and I did a lovely 19 kilometre run on the Isle of Sheppey, whilst Brendon pounded the streets wherever his work took him.

The three of us had one eye on Dartford though. Probably for three different reasons, but with one cause in mind – Demelza.

Brendon will be running the Brighton Marathon for Demelza on April 17th, whilst Lee was incredible with his fundraising for the Dartford Half Marathon, generating over £800 in sponsorship, whilst the three of us brought in an additional £350 from a bucket collection at a recent Invicta Dynamos game.

In all, we will probably raise over £4000 for the great cause between us and that’s what has kept us going through the darker days of training.

The countdown to Dartford seemed to take forever and messages back and forth kept us going, which was great considering we only ever really got chance to run together on Saturday mornings.

When the day finally arrived, leaving home at 7:15am was a bit of shock to my system on a Sunday morning and the freshness of the air was something difficult to explain.

After registering we elected to defrost back in the car with the ritual consumption of bananas happened along with a check on who’d vaselined what and where plasters had been applied.

Before we knew it, we were back at the track, the home of the Dartford Harriers. Waiting for the off wasn’t a nervous moment for me, more one of calm and serenity.

A last minute check on social media and messages gave us the boost we all probably needed and at 9:30am we were off.

The first few miles take you through the streets of Dartford, amusingly watching the traffic being stopped to watch about a thousand of us go past (some quicker than others). The real sense of community spirit hits you then as a runner as complete strangers cheer you on, offering you that kind gesture as you head along the highway.

Before we knew it, we were off the beaten path and out in the country lanes around Dartford, totally unknown to me and thankfully so, as we weren’t too sure of the hills that lay before us.

One of the more surreal memories of running through the lanes, with fields on both sides, was the amount of worms that had heard the runners coming past and had come out to see what all the fuss was about.

I’m sure there is some scientific explanation as to why there were hundreds of worms on the road, but it made running more fun trying desperately hard not to stick a size nine on top of them.

As the lanes twisted and turned, up and down hills, we seemed to get further from our ultimate destination, but we kept reminding each other that with every step we took, we were that bit closer to the 21 kilometre target.

For me, the joy of running most of this section was the chance to have a chat, not only with Lee and Brendon, but with other runners as well.

It’s funny how as pedestrians we rarely seem to talk to one another, but as soon as people have a number on their vest, we all become very sociable.

The looks of local residents peering out of their net curtains as we passed their remote homes was priceless. I’m sure some must have wondered what on earth was going on.

A real highlight for me during the day was the amount of people that came out offering not only support, but food and drinks as well. Jelly babies, wine gums, mars bars, you name it, we got offered it.

Brendon took advantage of many of these such offerings (sorry mate) and made it his mission to try and hi-five as many people on the way round. I promise I won’t mention about the old boy that left you hanging… (sorry again).

Before we knew it, we came upon the ten mile marker and we had been warned. Around the corner we came and were confronted with the hill of death.

Needless to say our pace was a little slower as we climbed our Mount Everest.

Miles 11-13 have to be the best ones for me. With a sense of purpose in us and the smell of the finish line ahead, we got our heads down and went for it.

The real beauty of this bit is that we offered each other encouragement all of the way, checking each other were fine, but happy in our silence as well.

Coming back into the park in which we had started was a golden moment and although we were tiring, it was so nice to start seeing familiar faces.

The last two hundred metres were hard, but incredibly rewarding. We linked hands and were true to our motto before the race, start together, end together.

I will never forget that moment. That sums up what running is all about. The joint sense of achievement and the pride we all took in each other’s success.

We’d all clocked 2 hours, 8 minutes and 2 seconds, but most importantly, we had finished and we’d finished together.

With medals around our necks, photos taken, cuddles shared and a lovely doughnut consumed, we went our separate ways.

Whatever life throws at us in years to come, we will always have that moment, that true moment of friendship and no one will ever take that away from us.

So what next I hear you ask. Well, on Good Friday we embark on an eighteen mile run from the Isle of Sheppey to Rochester, along the A2, so if you see us, give us a beep or a wave. We’ll be sporting our Demelza running tops once again.

If you feel inspired by our story, you can do two very positive things. The first is sponsor us. Every penny goes to Demelza and that would be fantastic.

The other is take up running yourself, or offer your support to someone who wants to run. Volunteers are the lifeblood of running events, so why not give up your time to help others?

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/brendon-davey

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lee-allen11

https://www.justgiving.com/Steve-Wolfe1/