I do not like running. I think it reminds me of being at school. I did not like sport at school. I never cared about the hockey ball I was chasing, I didn’t care enough about beating the person next to me to the finish line. I did NOT like running fast to jump into a sandpit. But what I do like is a challenge, I like pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. There were times when I was training when I had to drag myself to a treadmill to do sprints or force myself to put my trainers on to go for a gentle jog, even if the weather was beautiful. And yet finishing always, always felt great. Sometimes the start feels grim and then you just need to power through, keep putting one foot in front of the other and things just might start looking up.

“Remember this feeling, train your brain to remember this feeling, then it’ll remind you to start again…”

Things I learnt from the Hackney Half (some to do with running and some that are not):

Moving to music feels inherently better than moving in silence. 

Yoga is king of balance.

Our Knees could have been designed much much better.

A stranger shouting in a crowd can give energy to another human who is running and very tired. That energy is a real energy. It gave me so much faith in humans and it made think we’re all going to be fine and everything is going to be OK.