A RETIRED Dunfermline police officer who now spends much of his time playing an extra in movies and TV shows has spoken on how running has changed his life.

Steve Adam, 57, has made appearances in a host of movies and TV shows including Outlander and The Crown and is now encouraging people considering taking up running to take the plunge.

"About eight years ago I was a 49-year-old sitting in the stand watching my son James run and train with Pitreavie AAC," he said.

"I knew I was putting on weight just sitting around watching him, so one night I started doing some running up and down a back path behind the Pitreavie Stand when James was doing his session.

"I was probably two stones heavier than I am now, and it was pretty bad at first. After about 200-300 metres I’d be out for the count!

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"But I started the Couch to 5k and after three attempts at it, I managed to complete it and my first ever race was a 10k, where I just managed to get under the hour for it.

"I began to get into it and went along to JogScotland Dunfermline. That was daunting because I thought everybody was going to be very fast and maybe even elitist, but I was welcomed in and grouped with people who were the same speed as me, which I thought was great. You make friends at the same time."

Dunfermline Press: Steve Adam on the track for Carnegie Harriers.Steve Adam on the track for Carnegie Harriers. (Image: Scottish Athletics)

Steve said he then decided to join a running club and admits to walking the dog where Carnegie Harriers were training to see if he felt he could participate.

"Everybody seemed quite fast and it was really scary going there for the first time but, again, everyone was brilliant and nobody would be left behind because there would be a loop of some description," he said.

"People might lap you but it wasn’t a straight line where everyone disappears.

"The social side was great and it almost became addictive going to training twice a week. In time, my speed increased and for my age, I became quite a good runner."

Steve went from being a self confessed couch potato to being a three hour 45 minute marathon man in Amsterdam last year and only a hip injury prevented him trying to dip under 3hrs 30 mins in Belfast this year.

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He also won one of the races at the 2021 Monument Mile Classic with 5:47 as a V55 athlete.

"For the marathon, I’d never gone over 30k in training, so as soon as I hit that distance I was running into the unknown. I’d gone off a bit tentative with a gradual increase in speed over the whole marathon, so I was quite pleased with 3:45," he continued.

Steve said his favourite distances are 5K and 10k with his times for these now around 19.5 minutes and 41 minutes respectively.

"Running has totally changed my life. Seven years ago I was about 15 stones and now I’m 12 to 12.5. My diet hasn’t changed too much, so it is really solely down to running," he added.

"James and I have had some great experiences. Last year we went to Lornah Kiplagat’s high altitude training camp in Kenya, where Mo Farah used to go. I was a like a fish out of water, but I loved every minute of it."

His advice to anyone swithering about taking the plunge and joining a club or a JogScotland group is simple – go for it.

"It’s the best thing I’ve ever done," he insisted. "Running has changed my life and I’ll be doing it until my body doesn’t let me any more.

"I’m 58 in June and I’ve got this thing in my head that I’m going to build up to being a really good V60 runner. There’s a window there when I’ll be one of the young guys in the category, so I want to make the most of it!"