Great people do great things

Steve took on the Great North Run for Family Fund. Though this wasn’t his first rodeo, for his fifth and final Great North Run, he wanted to make a real difference to families’ lives.

Tell us about your running journey

“I started running 10 years ago, when I was 42-years-old and I couldn’t run a mile. The Great North Run was my first big challenge to work towards, and I was dreading it. After I did it once, I’ve ended up doing it five times in total. The Great North Run has the most electric and contagious atmosphere. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, everyone just cheers you on and supports you.”

Why Family Fund for your final Great North Run? 

“I’m 52 now, and my body isn’t doing what I want it to do anymore (or that’s what I tell myself!) With arthritis in my left knee, I decided that this will be the last time I do the Great North Run. I wanted to do it for a charity, and for a charity that supported children and families. 

“I work at McCain, and we have a partnership with Family Fund to help support families raising a disabled or seriously ill child on a low income. There are hundreds of charities, but when you’re at these events, it seems like there are some that get so many runners. I wanted to run for one a bit different.”

“As a family man with a strong family background, and a lot of people I work with also valuing family, I decided to run for Family Fund. I realised how fortunate I’d been with my own children and grandchildren. If I was in their situation, I’d need someone like Family Fund to turn to.”

How did it go? 

“It was much better than I ever could’ve expected. I never thought I’d hit a personal best on my last and final run. It must’ve been the mentality of it being my final run and making the most of my last time. As I was just about to run over the Tyne Bridge, I saw a young lad in a Family Fund vest running. I tapped him on the back, tapped my shirt, and we smiled at one another.

“Though I will still run for fun, knowing it would be my last Great North Run made the last two miles quite emotional. But I was so happy to have helped the families that Family Fund supports. When I struggled or I was training, I told myself that my hour or two of pain is nothing compared to the 24/7 struggle for the families that Family Fund supports. Putting myself in their shoes really helped with my training.”

What would you say to anyone thinking about a personal fundraising challenge? 

“You get so much euphoria from completing a challenge like this. It doesn’t have to be a half marathon. It can be a 5km run, or something completely different from running. People can’t tell you what you can and can’t do, only you can do that, so go out and do it! I tell everyone that the Great North Run should be on their bucket list.”