"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Half a century ago I made the momentous decision to try and run the 1977 Comrades marathon. I began my epic journey in June 1976, by running around my university rugby fields for 10 minutes. Mine was not the most auspicious of starts. It was a bitterly cold winter’s evening and I had to stop frequently to recover my breath, and to cough occasionally.

But with the hindsight of 50 years, I now realise that those first few running steps were probably the most important steps of my life. They were the greatest gift I ever gave myself. I successfully completed the 1977 Comrades and then embarked on a magical running journey. On that journey I enjoyed many brilliant highlights and a myriad of adventures. Unbelievably I became a Comrades marathon champion. But most importantly I gained invaluable experience, knowledge and understanding about how to get the best out of my running self.

On that first night I inadvertently got two things right. First of all, I made that first run so easy that I had no problem coming out the next night to run again. And secondly, I wrote it down, I started a training diary, a log book that recorded every run I have ever completed. I have never stopped writing in that log book, or log books. I have quite a library of books now.

It would be selfish to keep that knowledge to myself. I have always wanted to share my knowledge to get great pleasure from helping others to excel. But how best to do that?