Jeff Waters is hoping to take part in the 41^st running of the Stroud Half Marathon at the end of this month.

The 63-year-old has competed in the previous 40, a record that is all the more impressive when you consider he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of just 36.

“I’ve run/walked it the last couple of years,” said the Stroud Athletic Club member.

“This year I’m just going to walk it, I can walk pretty quickly. Hopefully I’ll be on the line at the start.”

And if sheer guts and determination count for anything he surely will be.

When he spoke to The Local Answer he’d just walked a 10K and he said: “I’m training hard, it took me an hour and a half.

“I would hope I’ll be able to walk a half marathon in three hours, 10 or three hours, 15; a half marathon is just over 21K.”

Waters, who lives in Rodborough with his wife Karen, completed last year’s Stroud Half in two hours, 58 minutes, five seconds.

He was accompanied across the finishing line by his daughter Rebecca and he said at the time that it was the last occasion he would run the race.

“My wife would like me to give up but I just love doing it,” he said. “l just hope everything goes right between now and the race, if not it will surely be time to retire.

“I’ve actually run the race 41 times because the year it wasn’t held because of Covid, Rebecca and I went down to the start line at 9am on the day the race should have taken place and went round the course together.”

Waters’ son Callum and his partner Laura Wells acted as cheerleaders that day on what was another memorable occasion for the family.

Waters, who joined Stroud AC in the early 1980s, was a decent runner back in the day.

He has a best London Marathon time of three hours, 19 and his best half marathon time of one hour, 24 minutes, 15 seconds was set in Bath some 30 years ago.

“I started running when I was 22 or 23,” said Waters, who is originally from Manchester. He moved to Stroud at the age of 16 or 17.

“I’ve run 80 to 85 half marathons, 11 London marathons and two Gloucester marathons. I also ran a 50-mile charity race from Tewkesbury to Oldbury when I was 26.”

It’s a sport that’s been a big part of his life for more than 40 years, although he readily admits it’s a sport he took up almost by accident.

“I was just trying to get myself a bit fitter,” he explained. “I was living in a flat in Stroud and this lad who had a room in the house bet me £10 that he could run round the block quicker than me.

“We set off and I lost him and I thought, ‘He’s a bit quick!’. It turned out that he took a short cut so I got my tenner!”

That was a decent sum of money back then and the smart money will certainly be on  Waters completing this year’s Stroud Half if he makes it to the start line at 9am on Sunday 29^th October.

“I’ve never given up,” he said. “I’ll keep on walking, pushing at the scrum.

“It’s so nice to get out and about around here, you’ve got all the hills and the woods.”

He’s also got plenty of friends who will be cheering him on if he does take part in this year’s Stroud Half.

“My daughter may walk with me and quite a few Stroud AC members have said they may walk with me. Hopefully I won’t finish last,” he said.

The Stroud Half starts and finishes at Marling School.