It was 5am, and I was stood under a tree with Jack in the pouring rain. The start area and road for the race was empty, there was no queue for the toilets; it seemed everyone was taking shelter. Occasionally we would see someone make a run for it to bag drop, sacrificing their trainers that they were trying to keep dry. By 5:35am I decided I should probably do some jogging pre-race, the rain had eased slightly. The starting areas were still deserted, so I was able to run briefly up and down the starting pens A and B, do a couple of dynamics and strides then make it back to Jack to leave my (his) waterproof with him. I told myself the first 5km would be my warm-up then! 

“You have to be able to walk before you can run”, so the saying goes…. well, it’s pretty true. Perhaps you have aspirations to start running, but are struggling to get beyond a couple of minutes. Therefore, the thought of ever running a 5km or 10km is not even comprehendible.