Looking back, moving forward
Rituals. We all use them to mark events or celebrate dates. At this time of year I like to...
Cancer, on stage
I have a serious theatre habit. And the programmes I’ve collected, from pretty much every production I’ve seen over...
On the buses
Athletes, Olympic and otherwise, often get a bus tour of their town or city when they arrive back home...
Firm hand on the tiller
I was starting to think I might not be able to complete Freyathlon. The first date I set for...
How high? How long?
‘Please tell me there’ll be a video,’ one of my work colleagues said when I told her I planned...
Swim Bike Run Eat Sleep. REPEAT.
Of all the Olympic sports, the triathlon has been the one that’s given me sleepless nights. I wasn’t too...
Exercise for the body and mind
Speed and agility are the hallmarks of taekwondo. To be honest, neither of them are my hallmarks. Which didn’t...
She runs. She jumps. She throws.
At the Olympics, women compete in the heptathlon and men compete in the decathlon. For women: 100m hurdles, 200m,...
On (and off) the track
I’d managed the 5000m, 10000m, marathon, and race walk but, because running isn’t my favourite thing, I kept putting...
Messing about in boats
‘Bad news. The lake’s got blue green algae.’ A serious disruption for my kayak instructor and his watersports centre,...