When you’ve been overtaken while out running by someone three times your own age and two guys with one leg (these all happened to me on three seperate runs), you become pretty realistic about your talent as a runner. With a 10K time of 54mins and a marathon PB of 4.31, I’m very much a middle of the pack runner. I’m never going to win any race or even be known as ‘good for age’. But I run because I enjoy it, not because I think I’ve got a shot at the next Olympics. Any race I’m having is with my shadow.

Sometimes, though, I have to remind myself of this – and today’s lunchtime run was one such case. I was running along the Embankment when a girl of similar age and build zoomed past me. “She must be only going a mile.” I said to myself to justify the difference in our speeds. But there was no need for this. Some people are just going to be better at running than me – either because they train more or sometimes just because they are. Deal with it.

One of the great things about running is that you can be in competitions with yourself and nobody else. And that’s how I like it – maily because I’m always going to win. So next time I get overtaken I’ll try to remember that the only competition is between me, myself and I.