But I have been getting my trainers on most mornings for the past 18 months, simply to stay fit and lose weight. So, I wasn't too daunted when I was challenged to run 41km (26.2 miles) over the space of two weeks for this year's BBC Children in Need appeal. Lots of people do a marathon in one go so how hard could it be?
Well, perhaps I shouldn't have been so conceited. Four weeks ago, a long-standing foot problem flared up. The doctor gave me pills.
But it stubbornly refused to get better. Members of Lostock Athletics Club had kindly offered to run the first few miles with me, and it was arranged for a drizzly Tuesday morning in Blackrod, near Horwich. I arrived, hobbling, and had to watch bemused as they jogged off into the distance without me.
Ian Burns, who is in his late 60s, offered some words of wisdom. "We are a bit stubborn and think we're not really hurt when we really are," he said. "It can take me weeks to get over a small injury, whereas 10 years ago, I would have been a couple of days." Either way, I hoped I would soon be fit to start the challenge.
It felt as though I was taking painkillers like sweets (while never exceeding the recommended dose, of course). But by the end of October, still unable to manage more than a hobble, I needed a Plan B. And that was when, as I looked around the BBC North West Tonight newsroom, I realised salvation could be close at hand.
Could a few colleagues join forces to run the miles on my behalf? The essence of Children in Need, since it started in 1980, has been about strangers coming together to raise money to help others. Over the decades, I've met so many fundraisers and those they help.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
