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I am 57 years old and started running in May 2016. My hometown is Günzburg, Bavaria and I live at the river Danube which is where I have run nearly every day since May 2016. My second home is London and I try to be there 5 times a year to visit family. 

Runner Feature - Richard Roth RunThrough Running Club LondonIn December 2015 I was 123kg and very unhealthy when a friend of mine asked me if I would join her at Weight Watchers and I did. The first kilos went away very quickly as I changed my eating habits, I also started Nordic Walking and my adopted son said you must start running. The first days were tough and I didn’t even manage 1k but with persistence and some consistency I soon hit 5k, 10k run and even longer – the kilos started to fall off and in six months I had got down to 77kg, a much healthier weight for me. 

Having lost weight I felt healthy and all the problems I had were gone. My blood results were as good as new! 

I found myself addicted to running after just week one, the success and results where what kept me going and made me want to run more and more. 

In the VR Bank Donau Mindel, the bank I work for, my bosses started a running group and I was selected to organise all the runs within our work teams. Our bank is also the main sponsor of 4 runs and 2 triathlons in our local area.

Some of the best races are in Germany and at my first race I came 2nd in my age group. This inspired me to run at more events around southern Germany and Austria. I started to run 35 – 40 races a year in 2017.

In 2018 I started to see my cousin in London and did my first race with RunThrough UK when I was in London in July. From that moment on I made it a regular thing to run with RunThrough when I was in London as I visited the UK 6 times a year. 

When I got the Nike running app I run with friends worldwide in competition and one of the first friends I made was Hector from Mexico City. We exchanged contact details over the app and have become very good friends. I have even been over to Mexico City to visit him and we had planned to run the Rock and Roll Half marathon in Oaxaca before the Coronavirus broke out. Running has brought me many new friends and I’ve even improved my Spanish! 

I have also started to run with disabled people and even helped to organise a run with disabled people – It makes me so happy to support and help someone who is limited to a wheelchair or has down syndrome. 

For me running is the best medicine for any stress. Running helps me to clear my mind and I also find myself having the best ideas for all of my life when I run and I have the time to think about a lot of things.

Running will always be a part of my life. I can’t stop running as this has changed my life a lot, for the better.