Saturday 16 March 2013

Okay, this is a possibly the most boring idea for a blog ever. This is my running blog. And, just to be clear, I’m not one of those runners who does exciting things like triathlons and marathons all around the globe, across deserts, over oceans, through mountains. No, all I do is toddle down to the river and back a couple of times a week.

Today I did my bog-standard winter run of 6k. My minimum distance used to be 4k, but that got me from my house to the river and back, which seemed a bit of a wasted opportunity, so I extended it so at least I get to enjoy running alongside the Cam for a bit, waving at the ducks, cursing at cyclists.

The idea behind posting a running blog on a writing site is simply that there seems to be some inexplicable overlap between the two, they’re almost twin processes for me. Both are hard work posing as ‘a fun hobby’. Both take a certain type of bloody-minded commitment, especially when the winter minimums of 6k and a story a week are replaced by the serious stuff – 10 mile runs and the next bloody novel. And both are essential parts of soul-nurturing. Life without running and writing would simply be odd, incomplete, not life as I know it.

This blog is also partially inspired by Haruki Murakami’s ‘What I talk about when I talk about running’, an insane treats when my favourite author suddenly decided to write a book about my two favourite hobbies. It’s as if Half Man Half Biscuit had written an album about drinking real ale at an Essex cricket match.

Stats: 6k, 34 minutes, 7 ducks, 3 boats, 3 cyclists.