This track and I know one another well. We’ve seen each other without make-up and in all weathers. At times it has ice or dog doo on it and occasionally I am icy or feel like dog doo when I’m on it. Our relationship is quite symbiotic actually; it forges me a path of possibility and my regular visits ensures its upkeep is maintained. We make a good team.

I haven’t always been a runner, in fact I only seriously laced up my trainers a couple of years ago. Somehow deriving fitness in a gym environment seemed like baking a cake in a microwave oven – achievable, but odd. Once I regularly began to launch into the fresh air, traverse uneven surfaces, and brush past foliage, fitness became authentic.

The challenge to becoming a runner is comprehending the notion that the transformation from utter exhaustion to comfortable motion takes only a relatively short time. Initially the gulf seems vast, but after a few weeks, land appears on the horizon. The map to navigate this gulf is right here. I followed this plan and was amazed to discover that a collection of  printed numbers and sentences presented in a spreadsheet/table form could have such an impact on my health and wellbeing. Begin with this training program as I did and you will also create a special alliance with a trail of your own.

Postscript: I might add that there is also another powerful ally in this relationship and that is my running partner. She knows the track as I do. As we tread its boards, we have also managed to cover other great distances: parenting, politics, stir-fry tips, to name but a few. Our motto is simple: what is said on the track, stays on the track.

Fortunately, the track is discreet.