Legend has it that on a cold night in November 2017, a newbie rocked up to a NEON party run in Kings Cross wearing yellow glow-stick glasses and embarked on his first ever 10k. Before that night, our Member of the Week Paul Westwood says he hadn’t run more than 500m since school.
It may have been his first MR run, but this wasn’t Westwood’s first MR party. It’s rumoured that he was seen crashing the previous year’s Christmas shindig 🎄 and buying a bottle of tequila for his new running friends. We can’t confirm who introduced him to the group, but sources say it was almost certainly Adam Tarpey.
Paul tells us...
“I got hooked on the energy and people right away. I’ve run and partied with MR in London, Barcelona, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. I just wish I’d found you guys sooner!”
It’s true that over the past few years, no trip has been complete without Westwood. But as for what he actually got up to on all these adventures… well, that’s harder to pin down. 📌
Did Paul really dance 10k through the streets of Paris after two bottles of Rosé? 🍷 Did he buy a scooter in LA, just to photobomb early-morning photoshoots? 🛴 Did he survive drinking a whole bottle of fireball at the New York launch? 🔥 Did he run through the night in Sweden? 🌙 Was he eaten by a shark at Wilderness Festival? 🦈 And is this really the same man that conquered the treacherous Beachy Head leg at Ragnar White Cliffs?! 💪 We can’t confirm.
What we do know for certain is that by day Paul matches people to property in South West London’s competitive housing market. It’s easy to joke that by night, he’s better at matching people to drinks, but beyond his loveable social side, Westwood has racked up some impressive fitness achievements over the last few years.
When asked about his best moments he says...
“Definitely the two Ragnars. Exhausting. Mentally draining. Physically challenging and so, so satisfying... Although thinking it was a good idea to run Médoc as my first marathon with no training is up there as one of my best/worst ideas.”
Yes, Paul chose the marathon with 23 wine stops as his first 26.2, and to top it off he was dressed as a Ninja Turtle, which proves that it really is impossible to separate fitness from fun with this legend. Exactly the way we like it at Midnight Runners!
It’s been a jam-packed few years since that first Neon Party Run, so what does Paul want to do next? “Just to take part in one actual race. With other people and a finish line and a medal and Oh My God I HATE COVID”. Yeah, we hear you Westie. This year might have been tough (understatement) but Paul has been using his extra time at home to hone his cooking skills. 👨🍳 Drool-inducing dishes can be seen on his ‘gram, and critics have described his pavlova as perfection. 👌
You can find Paul and his food-porn on IG at @FullWestwood. He tells us...
“I’m fairly sure my Instagram handle is down to Sami after I went ‘Full Westwood’ on a night in LA. If you know me I guess you’ll know what that means!”
We know exactly what that means, Paul. And when we can run and party together again, we hope that the man, the myth and the Full Westwood legend will be there. Midnight Runners wouldn’t be the same without you!
📸 Images by David Altabev, Cadenza Zhao, Matteo Bettoni
📣 Words by Hannah
