Whilst on the website, I spotted the mentoring scheme, and immediately knew that I was better off joining a group already doing this fantastic work, than trying to set up my own running group.

I have been running for many years. I used to run cross-country at school. I dreaded it, as did every other kid, but at the age of 15, without any training or willing, I came 2nd. For many, this would be the start of identifying an ability, and an opportunity to focus and progress. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any encouragement from my sports teachers, and as we didn’t compete against other schools in cross-country, it was dismissed, or considered useful for rugby; a sport I really wasn’t very good at! Similarly, at that age I didn’t have the impetus to push on myself and, as can often be the case, my running fell away, and school exams became the priority.

At university, I discovered running again, on my own, as a reason to stay fit, when every other aspect of uni life is rapidly making you unfit! I entered a few races, and despite not featuring anywhere near the front, l rediscovered the love of running. The sense of freedom, and the opportunity to clear my thoughts is liberating. Some people chose to meditate, but running is my meditation. The feeling of being physically fit is also rewarding, and, even after a long run, I feel energised and motivated.

I am extremely passionate about running, and about the undeniable benefits it brings to health and wellbeing. I am member of Serpentine running club, and I must admit to enjoying the competitive side of running too, although running is about so much more than trying to be quicker than your peers.

So, I decided I wanted to share my passion for running, and also share its benefits, by becoming a mentor for TRC. Once my DBS came through, I was paired with Abiel, a charming young man from Eritrea living in an Evolve Housing & Support hostel, in West Kensington. He had shown interest and promise at some of the group sessions at his hostel, and wanted to take his running further.

Our first run together was the Highbury Fields Parkrun at the beginning of December 2017. It was an icey cold morning, and Abiel ran in his denim jacket, jumper and tracksuit bottoms! Nonetheless, we finished the run in 36th place, in just 21 minutes!

The next week we ran together on our own. At the start of the run, Abiel asked me how far I run. I told him that my run to work is 8km and sometimes I do more, sometimes I do less. Abiel’s response was ‘Wow! 8km is so far!’… It gave me great pleasure to see the look on his face 35 minutes later when I showed him on my watch that we had just run 8km together! That run ended up being 10km, and Abiel was very pleased. Over the weeks since then, we have run together every Friday around Hyde Park, building up from the 5km Parkrun to an 18km run. We have done some shorter speed runs, and longer slow runs.

A few weeks in, Ezrin and I decided it would be good for Abiel to work towards The Big Half as his goal. Despite his lack of distance running, I knew Abiel was capable of running 13.1 miles, and in a decent time too. At first, Abiel was reluctant, but he agreed, and so we started to train, focusing on The Big Half.

After a month, I tried to encourage Abiel to run on his own in the days in-between our Friday runs. Initially, he said if he was on his own he could only run to the end of the street and he would be tired. But he started to do it, and is now running 2-3 times a week including our run. This is a great example that exercise can become an important part of a person’s weekly routine, and brings so many benefits with it.

Throughout, Abiel has remained committed and enthusiastic. During our runs, Abiel and I have learnt about each other (he has an inspiring story, which it has been fascinating to lean more about, but I will leave it to him to tell you about his life!). At first, communication was hard. Don’t get me wrong, Abiel’s English is a million times better than my Tigrinya, but there were definitely some challenges. In the the months we have been running, his English, and our communication, have improved brilliantly, and he has become much more confident when talking to me. Proof that the social interaction of running can be just as beneficial as the health improvements.

As the deadline approached for signing up to The Big Half, Abiel lost a little confidence in whether he could do it (he had only really taken up running 3 months before). By this point we had run 15km together. We discussed entering anyway, knowing that we could at least run 15km, and if we walked the rest, so what, it would still be an excellent achievement. So we signed up that day, and pushed on with our training. Mini crisis averted.

Second mini crisis… because Abiel had started to increase his running from essentially zero to around 35km a week, he picked up a knee injury, so we eased off for a week or two to allow him to recover, just doing shorter, slower runs and, fortunately, his knee pain went away. A lesson to me to consider encouraging a runner to do less early on, even if they are keen!

As an incentive to stick at the mentoring, TRC give running gear to the young people, as something to aim for. It was a real pleasure for me to be able to give Abiel his well deserved kit as reward for his hard work and commitment.

Alongside mentoring Abiel, I have volunteered at the fun group sessions in Hyde Park and Clapham Common. These sessions include games based around running, and offer variety that keeps it engaging, as well as working on other elements of running, such as improving speed. It’s clear that for some, these sessions provide more than just exercise and a chance to improve their running, but also an opportunity for social interaction, and an element of routine, which are critical for people’s well-being.

The culmination of three months hard work came when Abiel and I ran The Big Half together. Fortunately, the recent snow had cleared, the sun was out, and it was great conditions for running. Based on our training, we were aiming to complete the run in 1 hour 45 minutes. We expected this would be tough, as Abiel had not run this distance before, and was not running regularly before we started training together. Before the start, we took some photos amongst the other runners on Tower Bridge and soaked up the atmosphere; we were excited to get going! The start of the run was very busy, and we had to do a lot of side-stepping of other runners. It wasn’t until Limehouse tunnel, 2 miles in, that we managed to find some space to run at our own pace. From this point onwards we were running strong, and way ahead of our intended pace, but Abiel was comfortable, so we kept pushing. The support from TRC volunteers and staff was excellent, and gave us a boost every few miles. This was Abiel’s first experience of an organised event. When I told him there would be 12,000 runners, and almonds as many supporters, he gasped, as he thought there would only be 500 or so! As the miles ticked over, Abiel wasn’t letting up the effort, and I knew we were heading for an excellent time. The final 500m to the finish line at Cutty Sark were lined with people roaring the runners on to the finish, including Lucy and Ezrin, who were loudest of all! Abiel had a sprint finish, and the moment of crossing the line was euphoric. By this point, it wasn’t about the time it took at all, but the enjoyment of working hard towards a goal and achieving it, but Abiel had absolutely smashed it, and we finished in 1:34 minutes! We were both delighted and it was a fantastic reward for the hard work that Abiel had put in over the three months. It was one of the running events I have been most proud to be a part of, and it was a great feeling to share in Abiel’s achievement.

I decided to volunteer for TRC because I hoped to inspire others to take up running so they could improve their fitness and well-being, but I’ve found that it is me who is continually inspired by the committed, engaged and resilient young people who turn up for the running and fitness sessions, week in, week out, and the dedicated, caring and passionate staff who make the whole charity run (literally!).

Abiel now tells me he wants us to run a 1:10 half marathon! This is well out of my reach, and I don’t have Abiel’s youth on my side, but if he continues to show the commitment and enjoyment for running that he has done, and works towards the goal, then anything is possible!

If you would like to find out more about our innovative mentor programme, please get in touch using this form

If you would like to find out more about the work of our awesome partners Evolve, you can visit their website here