Running

This category exists because running is where I've done a lot of my thinking over the last couple of years, not because I have any special expertise in it. I'm not a coach, and I'm not trying to be one here.

I was 34, unfit, and hated running, then life got complicated and running became the one hour of the week that belonged entirely to me. If you're going through something similar, divorce, custody stress, work pressure, and looking for permission to take an hour for yourself, that's really what these posts are about. Honest and personal, not training plans, and not written by someone who was ever naturally good at this. If I can end up training for two marathons, the bar is lower than you think.

• If you want the origin story — read I Hated Running. Then My Daughter Was Born and Everything Changed.
• If you want to know why it mattered beyond fitness — read Why You Need Something That Isn't Work or Your Problems.