I joined parkrun to get fitter at 40 – I ended up married

Walking towards the start line, I was overwhelmed by the three hundred runners who were shouting words of congratulations and cheering us on.

In many ways, this Saturday was like any other as Mike and I attended our local parkrun in Southport, but there was one key difference…

Less than 24 hours before, we’d been celebrating our marriage with family and friends and today marked our first run as husband and wife. We had officially come full circle.

I first got involved with parkrun over seven years ago. It all started when I was approaching the age of 40 and decided I wanted to get fitter. However, being blind had always made working out challenging.

Going to the gym on my own felt like an impossible task – there’s a long way to go before most classes and gym coaches become accessible for blind and partially sighted people. 

But, one day, during an appointment with my GP after discussing my desire to get fit, he told me about parkrun.

‘I’ve recently trained as a guide runner,’ he said, ‘why don’t you come along and I’ll run with you?’

Always one for a new challenge, I agreed but honestly I had no idea what I was signing myself up for.

Turning up for my very first parkrun in December 2016 was daunting. And when I learned it was a 5k, having never ever run before, I was even more terrified.

So many thoughts went through my head: ‘What if I can’t do it?’, ‘How far even is 5k?’ and ‘Do I even know how to run?’.

There was no time like the present to find out.

My GP introduced me to the man who was going to be my guide, and we set off together, with me holding his arm and linking his elbow. All I could think was: ‘I really hope I can finish this otherwise it’ll be embarrassing.’ But soon those thoughts quietened as I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

It felt very strange not to have my cane in my hand but to instead put my trust in a guide to get me round safely. But with their help I was able to give that very first parkrun my best shot.

I had to walk most of the way and I only did a small amount of running, but no one ever judged me for it.

All the volunteers and the other runners and walkers were so encouraging and supportive. I loved that there was a real sense of community so I knew, before I’d even crossed the finish line, that I wanted to be part of that for a long time.

It just so happens that, at this first parkrun – and all future runs – my guide was Mike.

He was quiet but really friendly and I felt an instant spark with him – he was so kind, patient and understanding. 

It’s hard to describe since we’d just met, but it felt like we’d known each other forever.

Mike is a very fast runner, though thankfully he was happy to go at my pace and soon, between him giving me guiding instructions such as what was underfoot or telling me when we were going left, right or uphill, we would just chat about our week. 

I found myself falling for him.

Frustratingly, he didn’t give much away and because I can’t see, I couldn’t pick up on any of those visual signals that would give me a clue as to whether he liked me back. Still that didn’t stop us from getting closer as friends.

As the weeks went by, Mike and I expanded from just meeting at our weekly parkruns to doing other running events together and even going out together on the weekends.

We were spending more and more time together prompting both friends and family to ask: ‘Are you sure there’s nothing more going on?’ Although I wanted there to be more, we really were just good friends at that stage.

This went on for some time, until around three years into our friendship I finally told Mike I had feelings for him.

It was a huge gamble for me; I didn’t want to lose his friendship, but I also knew it was getting harder to just be friends with him. I was falling in love. 

At first Mike told me he wasn’t ready for a relationship – we had both been previously married so I understood why he was tentative: like me he didn’t want to get hurt again – but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t upset me to hear that.

I respected his decision and I tried to move past the rejection but my feelings for Mike never faded. In fact, they became so overwhelming that in the end I had no choice but to give him an ultimatum – either we get together and give it a try or we couldn’t be friends anymore.

As harsh as that sounds, it was the best decision because by August 2019 Mike and I were officially an item.

Once we got together everything moved quickly. Six months into our relationship, Covid-19 hit and Mike moved in with me and sold his house. We just didn’t want to be apart.

The pandemic sped up our relationship, and I was glad it did. Mike, my son Olly and I became a little family.

We continued to run together, and even bought a tandem cycle, so we could ride together.

We didn’t really discuss getting married until May 2023 – ‘what are we waiting for?’ we asked each other. We both knew what we wanted and so we went for it.

There was no big engagement or announcement, we just started planning a small wedding of 70 people, with family and friends for October. We’d previously had big weddings in our past relationship, so wanted something more intimate this time round.

We purposely chose a Friday so that, the following morning, we could attend our usual parkrun – it was only fitting that the place that brought us together be part of our wedding celebrations. 

The wedding itself was beautiful – it was just like having a party, where everyone was dancing and chatting the night away – but when I woke up next to my husband the morning after, I felt like everything was complete in my life.

I then pulled on my ‘this girl just got married’ T-shirt and trainers and we headed to the park.

Despite feeling a bit tired (and, admittedly, slightly hungover), as Mike expertly guided me round our twisty 5k at Hesketh Park, I couldn’t have been happier. 

Today, parkrun remains a huge part of both of our lives. Whether we are running, walking or volunteering, I can’t think of a better way to start our Saturday mornings.  

Because while I joined to boost my fitness, this club has brought me so much more than that – it’s brought me friends, a community and, most importantly, the love of my life.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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