Bill and Katherine are positive influences and great ambassadors for our sport.  They are regulars with ParkRun, Running Room and the Ajax Wannabes and have travelled to all corners of the globe running in various races. They were kind enough to share her running journey with us....

1) What inspired you to start running?

Bill was a runner in his youth, and returned to it at the same time Katherine made fitness a priority(8yrs ago after a serious illness 9yrs ago). Having been a couch potato her whole life, she was committed to changing my lifestyle. Started running thru the Running Room, met some great people, and was hooked!

2) What lead you to join/start a Run group and what are you most proud of

We love parkrun (free, timed, 5km, every Saturday)! And participating in other various Durham groups, including Ajax Wannabes, and the Running Room Run Club (Wednesday nights).  We love the social part; running with people, coffee/drinks afterwards, etc. We are regulars at Whitby parkrun, as participants and volunteers. Volunteering is a great way to give back. It’s fun and we get to meet so many people. We also enjoy visiting other local parkruns; Uxbridge and Ajax. Looking forward to trying new ones like Coburg and Burlington.

3) Anything unique about your running journey?

Hmm...Katherine never ran a step until 8yrs ago, but once started, dove in! First marathon was 16mon after that first run. Love local races too! So happy to see the new Ajax Waterfront race!

Running tourism has also been a big thing for us. We are 4/6 thru the World Majors. We love finding great places to run and visit. Most recently we combined the London Marathon with a trip to Morocco. Taking a camel ride after running a marathon formed a unique recovery!

4) What advice would you give those beginner and intermediate level runners?

It’s OK to walk! No one runs forever. Run some. Walk some. There’s so many different types of running - solo/group, long/short, tempo/easy. Try them out and find what works for you. And most definitely….Come to parkrun!! No one cares about pace. May walk 100%. We even have a volunteer whose sole job is to come in last - so no need to worry about pace or getting lost.

5) What’s your favourite route that you have run a) in Durham and b) anywhere in the world

The Durham waterfront (Whitby, Ajax, Pickering) have some of our fav routes. Plus Cullen park and Heber and Greenwood conservation areas. Our world marathon journeys have been amazing and memorable, too. Hard to pick a fav! But Katherine’s true favs have been the running adventures with friends.