1. Read a book about sports: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami

Please indulge me for a moment while I talk about my own running.

On 2nd November, 2013, I attended my first parkrun. I was not a runner. I remember desperately trying to keep up with the pack at the start, only to have to stop and walk, gasping for air, after a pitiful 250m. I wanted to cry at the thought that I still had thousands of metres ahead. I walked and jogged the rest of the way, berating myself for being so stupid for thinking that such an activity was suitable when I was clearly so hopeless at running. I was exhausted afterwards, my feet hurt and I was embarrassed that I was 96th out of 100.

But by the next Saturday, I'd recovered enough to have another go. And then another. I found some free training programs to help build up my stamina. I met fellow "back of the pack" runners who, like me, were slow, but persistent. They supported and encouraged me.

Since then...

107 parkruns (PB time is just on 35 minutes)
10km fun runs
14km City2Surf
Two Half Marathons (21.1km)

I am a runner and I like running, even if I run like a tortoise in peanut butter!

For Christmas last year, I bought myself a copy of Matthew Inman's The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances. It's an honest, and hilarious look at long distance running for fun. In it, there are several references to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, and luckily for me, my sister (who is a much more accomplished runner than I) had a copy on her shelf.

In truth, this book could easily count as a travel memoir, or even a book about books, as it is a collection of Mr Murakami's thoughts on how running helps his work as a novelist. He runs the New York and Boston marathons, triathlons in Japan, and relaxed training runs in Hawaii.

This book doesn't preach the virtues of a running lifestyle, or give instructions on how to be a better runner. There are no podium finishes, glorious victories or crushing defeats. Just quiet reflection on training and reaching your goal, even if that goal is a small one, like finishing a race without walking. It was a delight to read and I'd recommend it to anyone.