A team of runners from Kent will go the extra mile on Sunday when they run 70km from Newington near Sittingbourne to Ramsgate in aid of Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance.

Starting at 8am on Sunday, the team of runners will aim to be in Ramsgate by 5pm where they will be met by a team of supporters.

Whilst most people will be enjoying a well deserved lie in, the team of KSS runners will be looking to beat the weather with rain anticipated at some stage on Sunday afternoon.

The question is, why are they doing this? We caught up with Steve Wolfe who is embarking on his own challenge already – The Run The World Challenge – running the distance of the world without a day off. That’s 40,075km!

“It’s simple – we’re doing it because we can!” said Steve. “I’m incredibly lucky that I’m surrounded by such a great, supportive and crazy bunch of runners that never really question what I’m doing.”

“To be fair, this challenge – The Big Run Home Challenge on Sunday isn’t really my idea, but I’m always up for doing something that takes me out of my comfort zone.”

“My good friend, Saul Mallett, has been thinking about doing something epic for a while and had been looking at a run like this for the past year or so.”

“We’re both in our fifties now and found running later on in life and this will be the furthest we’ve ever run. We came close to this a few years back when we ran between the KSS airbases in Redhill and Rochester. That was about 64km and that was hard enough, so this will be taking it to a whole new level.”

Steve’s challenge of running every day for almost the past nine years has seen the 51 year old cover almost 32,000km in that time and he’s hoping to complete his Run The World Challenge on 31st December 2026 – exactly ten years to the day that he started his run streak.

When asked what motivates him to keep running every day, Steve explained:

“I absolutely love running. It’s literally saved my life. I suffer with PTSD, anxiety and depression after being the first on scene at a road traffic collision in November 2020. Unfortunately on that day, despite the best efforts of myself, paramedics and the air ambulance, we weren’t able to save the young motorcyclist.”

“It left me with lots of flashbacks and I don’t go a day without thinking about what happened on that afternoon.”

“I was already on my run streak at that point and with it being in Covid times, I think contracting the virus shortly after left me in the perfect storm and I found myself struggling to cope with life.”

“Running was what kept me going literally and I don’t know where I would be without it now.”

Steve runs a minimum of 5km every single day, come rain or shine, wind or snow and he’s running in countries across the world in the process to keep his streak going.

Running through multiple injuries and having had two steroid injections in each of his feet to deal with plantar fasciitis, the 51 year old has found out just how resilient he is as he told us.

“I never realised quite how mentally tough I can be until I started to pick up a number of injuries. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not in pain, but as I was once told, pain is temporary and pride is permanent.”

“I’d much rather not be in pain, but I guess it goes with the territory. You can’t run the distance of the world without a few niggles!”

So to this weekend and why he’s embarking on this latest challenge, Steve told us the background of why he’s raising funds for KSS Air Ambulance, having picked up the BBC Kent Fundraiser of the Year award only last month:

“It’s pretty simple really. I’ve seen firsthand the work the air ambulance team do and if I can do anything to raise funds and awareness for them, then that’s great.”

“Back in March of 2023, I was at Sittingbourne parkrun when one of our runners, Martyn had a cardiac arrest. Thankfully I, along with others were able to perform CPR on him and with the use of the defib we had, we kept him alive until the air ambulance arrived and he’s still here to tell the tale.”

“I perish to think what would have happened to him if the air ambulance hadn’t have been there that day to get him to hospital so quickly. They and we, I guess, saved his life.”

“That’s why I do what I do. None of us ever know when we might need an air ambulance and being a charity that needs around £20 million a year to operate, it means people like myself have to fundraise to help keep them operating.”

“They are lifesavers and if I can just do something as simple as putting one foot in front of the other for ten years, then I’m playing my part.”

With this weekend in mind, Steve went on to explain one of his motivations for getting to the finish in Ramsgate.

“Well, I would say it’s the thought of a pint and a burger might have something to do with it! In truth, Martyn will be there at the finish with his family and the thought of seeing his smiling face will me motivation enough for me.”

“Knowing he’s still here to be with his family still gives me goosebumps and he’s the nicest guy you could ever meet. We’ve become lifelong friends and I think he’s just about forgiven me for breaking his ribs two and a half years ago!”

“My wife Sara and daughter Ellie will be there at the end as well as being out on the route throughout the day along with some other awesome people who will be there cheering us on and stocking us up with fuel.”

“Seeing some familiar faces will give us a lift when we know we will need it most and if they’ve got chocolate with them as well, then that’s a real bonus!”

Steve will also be undertaking both the London and Brighton Marathons on behalf of Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance in 2026 and is hoping to raise in excess of £2500 for the charity.

With that in mind, he has asked if anyone would be willing to support him going into the final 14 months of his ten year challenge.

“This last 8,000km or so is going to be emotional, but I hope it means we can raise some serious cash for such a worthy charity.” said Steve.

“If anyone could spare us a few pounds, it really does add up. I think I’ve raised about £8000 for KSS in the past few years and it’s nice to know it goes a small way to getting the helicopters off the ground and saving lives.”

“It would be fantastic if some local companies could come onboard and support me – I truly believe the people of Kent are awesome and it would be fantastic if anyone could sponsor me if they are in a position to do so.”

Leaving Newington at 8am on Sunday, Steve anticipates to be finished in Ramsgate by 5pm and has given us the following times if anyone wishes to cheer on the runners as they go through.

8am Newington

8:30am Sittingbourne High Street

9am Teynham High Street

9:45am Faversham – Shepherd Neame Brewery

11:30am – Whitstable harbour

12:45pm – Herne Bay pier

2:15pm – Minnis Bay

3pm – Margate seafront

4pm – Broadstairs beach

5pm – Ramsgate harbour

*All times are approximate and subject to change.

Should you wish to support Steve and the team on the day, updates will be posted to his Facebook page – Run The World Challenge and you can sponsor him here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/steve-wolfe-14