– of running. I thought that being a penguin meant looking past others’ expectations and getting to the truth of myself. I thought that being a penguin was about being slow.But then, not long ago, a 32-minute 10K runner introduced himself to me as a penguin. I

It started long before it began. The idea was as eloquent as it was simple – and perhaps a tad outrageous: stuff a couple of pairs of running shoes and a change of clothes into the saddlebags of a motorbike and head across country in search of new roads and new friends. As with ...

occurred for me in the middle of a marathon relay. My mother, my son and I were a team. Being the ‘real’ runner, I completed the first 13.9-mile leg. My son, blessed with youth and enthusiasm, had the 9.3 miles in the middle, and my mother, claiming

There we were. Two middle-aged men in a Firebird on a summer night. The top was down, the V8 was rumbling. We were just driving around, minding our own business.And there he was. A 20-something young man in a four-cylinder sports saloon with loud

There we were. Two middle-aged men in a Firebird on a summer night. The top was down, the V8 was rumbling. We were just driving around, minding our own business.And there he was. A 20-something young man in a four-cylinder sports saloon with loud

and would not yield. They persisted in running ahead of me – not just somewhere in the vicinity ahead of me, but, for most of the race, directly in front of me.London 2000 was my 21st marathon. It was remarkable because I’d never intended to run even one

in the shadow of a 10,000-year-old glacier. You’ve just imagined the 2001 Antarctica Marathon, aka ‘the Last Marathon’.To me, it seemed like the perfect idea – the Penguin running with the penguins. But just reaching the Last Marathon was a marathon in itself: a

.But it was this runner’s first encounter with himself. You see, Andrew was only eight years old. And suddenly, two and a half miles into a 3.1-mile race, he had to confront himself. Like so many of the adults around him, Andrew had to decide if he was willing to confront

“This just isn’t my day,” I heard her whisper. When I turned to look at her, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She wasn’t in pain. She was simply finished. It was as though someone had drained out all of her energy. And the marathon finish was still 13

After university I decided to get back in shape – about once every 10 years, that is. In my early 20s I took up tennis. In my early 30s I played squash. And, of course, in my early 40s I discovered running. I got a lot of exercise playing tennis