It started as a challenge to clock 5km every day following a health scare, but Steve Wolfe has now run for more than 2,800 consecutive days.

Steve, of Watling Drive, in Newington, near Sittingbourne, says he vowed to turn his life around after being taken ill in 2014 - so took up running.

The dad-of-one said: “It was the wake-up call that I needed to change my lifestyle and get active. The next year I joined the Parkrun at the Great Lines Heritage Park.

“I met some inspiring people and decided to take up my own challenge. There were people there doing remarkable things so I thought maybe I could.

“We rely on the NHS to bail us out but we need to go out and do something for ourselves. It is the best thing I have ever done.”

Steve started running on December 31, 2016, intending to log 5km a day for a year.

However, it quickly snowballed when he decided to “run the circumference of the world” - a total of 40,075km - in 10 years.

The 50-year-old has now run consecutively for more than 2,800 days recording just over 25,000km.

And if that was not enough, for his milestone birthday he decided to challenge himself to run 50 half-marathons in as many days to fundraise for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Charity (KSS) after seeing first-hand the work it does.

In November 2020, the former charitable trust chief executive was the first on the scene of a road accident in Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham.

He gave CPR to a motorcyclist while they waited for the air ambulance and paramedics to arrive, however, they died at the scene.

Three years later, Steve was attending Sittingbourne Parkrun when a participant went into cardiac arrest.

He sprung into action giving CPR and used a defibrillator to help save the runner’s life while the air ambulance was called.

“It is flight or fight in those situations,” Steve added. “I ended up going straight over there to see if I could help as I am first-aid trained.

“Whatever you do you are not going to do any more harm than not doing anything.”

Speaking about this year’s challenge, he said: “Running every day is hard enough, so taking it up to a half marathon a day for 50 days will be the hardest thing I have done in this challenge so far.

“I wanted to push myself to the limit. I am always trying to do something a bit crazy and a bit different.

“I am honoured to be doing this challenge, raising awareness of the significant role KSS plays in our local community and helping them to save lives.

“I know the great work KSS does and I have seen the paramedics save people’s lives first-hand.”

You can donate to Steve’s fundraising page here.

Running and challenge manager at KSS, Lola Inge, added: “Steve’s dedication and passion are inspiring, and the funds he raises will make a real difference to the lives we save every day. We are incredibly grateful for his support.”