A GREENFIELD man had more reason than most to be nervous when he was close to the edge at Alphin Pike.
For Simon Gardner chose that as the location to propose to his girlfriend, Bec Avanessian – thankfully, nerves were unfounded as she said ‘yes.’
Love brought the 49-year-old to Saddleworth after first meeting his now fiancée while taking part in a marathon in the Cumbrian hills.
And after the Covid-19 pandemic meant plans to go running in Spain were called off, he could think of no better location.
So, on the 100th time he ran up the peak, he got down on one knee and popped the question.
Thankfully, she said ‘yes’ and his knee was not shattered after running more than 40 miles the day before.
Simon, originally from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, proposed on Sunday, December 13 during a spell of dry weather – but the conditions had already forced him to change his plans for a speech.
He said: “It was my 100th time up Alphin Pike and I’d had the wedding proposal on my mind for quite a while.
“Lockdown put things back and we were planning on going running in some very high hills in Spain, I was also planning on climbing the Eiger next year, that was all part of the plan.
“But I thought, ‘You know what, we love it at Alphin, we’re there all the time and we can see it from the bedroom window. Why not do it there?’
“When I got there, there weren’t really any nerves, although I was a little. I was more worried about the weather because the forecast was OK.
“It wasn’t too bad when we got there but we knew it would pour down in about half an hour.
“I did have a speech planned but it was a bit windy and you couldn’t hear very well, so that went out of the window.
“And the only worry was we’re doing a charity event at the moment called the December Dovestone Diamond Challenge.
“It’s as many laps of Dovestone Reservoir – which is about 10-and-a-half kilometres – as possible from sunrise to sunset. I managed six laps on the Saturday, more than 64km.
“So, I was a little worried about my legs not being up for the Alphin 100th but as it happened I was OK.
“It was a very good day and the proposal went how I was hoping it would.”
Simon first set sights on 46-year-old dental hygienist Bec while taking part in a marathon in the Lake District in 2017, and soon they crossed paths again.
As they say, one thing led to another and Simon moved to Greenfield from Preston, Lancashire, where he was for his job at a flat roofing company.
He added: “We were running and I ran past her and said, ‘You all right? How are you doing?’
“She was like, ‘Oh, I’m OK.’ Then I carried in running but Bec is much better at it than me and she caught me up and I said, ‘Hello again.’
“That was at mile 15 and we ran for the rest of the marathon, then arranged a date, met up and we had a couple of dates in Greenfield.
“I thought, ‘This is nice here, it’s better than where I live.’ So, I sold my house and moved to Greenfield two-and-a-half years ago.
“I really love it here.”
Now the question has been popped, with here running pals looking on, thoughts now turn to when and where they will tie the knot.
Where is the easy bit – they love Greenfield so much it will be local. When, however, may be a bit more tricky.
Simon explained: “We’ve not started looking at a date yet. Just chatting, we’re looking at a date at the beginning of summer.
“But with everything that’s going on at the moment, I’ve got friends who’ve had to put their wedding off for a year.
“I’m sure there’s going to be a but of a backlog on weddings – but we’ll be keeping it local, that’s for sure.
“We’re not going to go far. Greenfield is such a lovely place.”
