By Narelle Coulter
Every Day is Valentine’s Day for Jess Brown and her fiancé Jake Ward.
Jake made a very public declaration of his love when he asked Jess to marry him minutes after finishing a charity run from the Gold Coast to Cranbourne in November.
Photographers covering Jake’s homecoming captured the surprise and rapture on Jess’s face as Jake got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.
The happy couple, who recently moved into a new home in Pakenham, are now planning a January 2018 wedding.
Jake described himself as “very lucky” and that he knew on the first date that Jess was the one for him.
He had planned the finishing line proposal well before setting off on his 1500 km run.
“I had been thinking about it for a long time. It was probably three or four weeks before I left that I got the ring. I took my future mother-in-law shopping to make sure I got the right one,” he said.
“The whole run would have been a lot easier if I hadn’t had (the proposal) on my mind. It would also have been easier if I had had Jess with me. But I’m definitely not complaining.”
Jake’s Gold Coast run raised $55,000 for cancer research, bringing the total of his three charity runs to $103,000.
Jake had previously run from Sydney to Melbourne and had his first taste of long distance running when he completed a110 kilometre local charity run in December 2013.
“The feeling is indescribable,” he said.
“When I try to explain it it’s really hard. When I look at a map it’s hard to believe I’ve done it. It won’t sink in for a couple of years.”
It was shortly before Jake met Jess, who he describes as the “world’s nicest person”, that he decided to tackle the Gold Coast to Cranbourne run.
Jess was seeing someone else at the time, but knew there was something special about Jake when he approached her in a bar and offered to buy her a drink.
“He stood out from the moment I met him as down-to-earth genuine guy. We met up eight months later and my previous relationship had ended. We were Facebook chatting and then went out on a date to Ambrosia in Berwick.
“He’s very traditional and insisted on picking me up. I laughed at first and said there was no need, I have a car. But he was persistent and picked me up.
“We fell in love on our first date. You know the right one when you meet them.”
Jake told her about his plan to run form Queensland to Victoria but Jess admits she didn’t appreciate the full extent of his ambition.
“He bought it up on our first date, and told me everything about himself, but it’s hard to comprehend and believe him. I probably just said ‘that’s nice’ when he told me about his run from Sydney,” she said, laughing.
Jess helped Jake organise the Gold Coast run and was with him when he set off on his epic journey.
However, her commitments as a primary school teacher meant she couldn’t be with him the whole way.
“I was with him and saw the first 50 km. I could see how hard it is and it was even harder to leave him.”
The couple was apart for three weeks as Jake slogged his way along through Queensland, New South Wales and into Victoria.
“Those three weeks were really hard,” admitted Jess.
“We were FaceTiming and calling as much as possible. I was there for him but I just couldn’t be there physically.”
Jess re-joined Jake in Rutherglen and accompanied him the rest of the way, running alongside or following in a car.
“The last five days of the run were amazing. Even though it was hard to see him go through it, at least we were together. It was amazing.
“Once I got there, he felt he’d done it, that he could do the rest with me there.”
Jess described the very public proposal as “perfect” and “amazing” but admits she was the last to clue on to what was happening.
“He was giving speeches and thanking everyone and then he said he had a present for me. I didn’t even think of it then.
“My mum passed him the ring but I was still confused until he got on one knee and I thought ‘oh, that’s what he’s doing’.
“I don’t remember what he said, but I heard the word marry and I said ‘yes’ straight away. I said yes five times ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes’.”
The couple is planning a beach wedding at Silverwater Resort in San Remo on 12 January.
They spent their second date enjoying fish and chips by the San Remo waterfront and the town holds a special place in their hearts.
Jess said the time they spent together that day reconfirmed in her mind that “he was the one”.
“He was so funny and sweet and lots of fun, so it was another special day for us.”
They are not sure what they will do on Valentine’s Day. Jake has promised to “conjure” something up.
“We’re planning a wedding so it won’t be too over the top. Just a happy afternoon together or a candlelit dinner at home.”
For Jess every day with Jake is special.
“From the first date Jake has made every Valentine’s Day special because he’s always affectionate and showing his love. We haven’t needed that one day to be significant.”
