This week's column is not about me. Well not that much - I am pretty self-obsessed.

I have spoken about how I'm a minor rock star of running now we have beginners at BodyFit.

Okay, that's just my interpretation of it, but you know what I mean.

Jon suggested that longer runs on a Saturday would be a good thing and like fools, we agreed.

It has been good for us and proves we can do it. I think we'd become a little bit lazy (hark at me, I'm lazy because I only run three miles on a Saturday!).

Last Saturday, we wanted to do a long run but there were time constraints on some of us, so it was decided that we'd go along the old road to Brigham, through the village and cut down Cockermouth Lonning and retrace our steps.

I wasn't really listening, to be honest, and thought I'd just follow the crowd.

Off we trotted. Bizarrely I was at the pointy end with Jon, Michelle and Edna.

Janette, Margaret and Dianne were behind us and behind them were Elaine and Wendy.

Elaine and Wendy are lovely ladies but they will admit themselves that they are slower than the rest of us. I love them because they make me feel quick.

But they never give up and usually we will wait for them to catch us and always try to run with them as they don't know Cockermouth that well.

It didn't work out that way on Saturday.

We were spread so widely that Jon and Edna were way ahead, poor Michelle had a lonely long distance run, Janette and I ran together and Dianne and Margaret were buddies and Wendy and Elaine were bringing up the rear.

I was glad I was with Janette as she had been paying attention and knew we were to run down Cockermouth Lonning in Brigham.

We waited for Margaret and Dianne to appear, pointed at the lonning and then carried on.

Unfortunately, Elaine and Wendy were not near enough to see the pointing.

We got back to the Lakes Home Centre for a cuppa and were congratulating each other on running four-and-a-half miles with relative ease when Margaret wondered where Elaine and Wendy were and hoped they were okay.

We decided they were adults and would be fine. About 15 minutes later, they arrived.

Wendy checked her watch. They'd run 5.9 miles. She was shocked.

It turned out that, like me, they had no idea about Cockermouth Lonning and Elaine, who was with us on our last long run, carried on that way, telling Wendy 'This is the way we ran last time'.

They'd ended up running all the way up through Brigham and down Parklands.

The pair of them were quite rightly delighted as they hadn't stopped the entire way.

You can forget hero-worshipping the ultra-fit whippets up the front end who make running look easy.

To me, Wendy and Elaine are true running champions.

In fact, all of those who are not built like runners or have only been doing this for a short amount of time are the true success stories.

We're the ones who struggle, who don't think we can do it, who moan like crazy when there's a hill, but we turn up time and again and do it.

It doesn't matter how long it takes you. A mile is a mile. Wendy and Elaine, you are my running heroes.