Me and Verity two years before we'd even met

Exactly 7 years ago today on the 20th of June 2015, me and Verity attended the very same Walsall Arboretum Park run. (For those of you who don't know, the parkrun is a weekly 5k running event held every Saturday morning at 9am in parks all over the country). We didn't know of each others existence at the time, and wouldn't do for another 2 years.

When Verity and I met (at snobs nightclub in Birmingham) 2 years later in late June 2017, we were surprised to discover that we were both semi-regulars at the park run, and from that point on travelled there together.

It was only a few months ago that one of us had the thought: "I wonder what the earliest park run was that we both attended?" which quickly turned to "and I wonder if there any pictures of it?" knowing that every park run from that era was photographically documented by an elderly ex runner who has sadly now passed away. So, we loaded up the website, crossed checked our results and found this date. To our surprise, there we both were, a great deal younger, more naïve and baby-faced than we are today. There aren't any photos of us in the same shot because Verity is far too quick for me to have even come close to lapping her on this three lap course.

Verity was 22, had just finished university and had started working at her first big job. I was 24, working at a pub, and firmly in the middle of the slow process of getting my shit together. By that I mean drinking less, being more productive, and being more active. Pushing and testing myself in the right ways and not the wrong ones. That's why I was here on a Saturday morning at 9am and not fast asleep on my moms sofa with a terrible hangover (although I usually would have 4, sometimes 5 pints the night before and I honestly don't know how I did that)

It was a good time in my life because a sense of pride in myself was starting to emerge prominently, and running was the main channel for this pride to emerge. I was quickly learning the simplicity of it all. You endure pain, you feel better. At the time when you're single, living at home and still a bit hopeless, you sometimes wonder what the point is, but I managed to keep on track. Fast forward my life two years to the point in which I met Verity, and all the hard work pays off. She would never have picked me as a partner if I was still getting fucked up and abusing my body, and running helped saved me from all that. Better still Parkrun did, because it got me out of bed on a Saturday morning whereas a normal solo run wouldn't have.

On this occasion both of us achieved a PB as you can see in the last image. Maybe we briefly locked eyes on the start line and that gave us an extra boost. Who knows.

We both went on to better these times, but our best times were achieved once we'd met each other. In fact all of our best achievements have been during the 5 years that we've known each other. That's particularly true for myself, because Verity's incredibly caring and supportive nature has enabled me to excel, reaching places that I never would have had the strength to do if I was on my own.

Here's to many more runs, personal bests and happy years together!