“A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step” so said Laozi and he was right. I’ve been fortunate enough to have undertaken some epic journeys including running 525 miles across the Spanish Pyrenees, 300 kilometres across Italy and a 300 mile jaunt down the Camino de Santiago and across to the Picos Mountains. Iconic trail races too from the Ultra Trail Sierra Nevada in the sweltering heat of Granada to the freezing temperatures of the Salomon Skyline Ring of Steall and Ben Nevis Ultra in the Cairngorms, Scotland.

But it wasn’t always like this. In my mid fifties I was clinically obese and riddled with arthritis often having to walk with a stick. I had come to a crossroads in my life and I chose to take that first step rather than wallow in pain, pills and self pity. And the first steps were difficult but eventually, given time, walking turned to running, half marathons turned to marathons and ultra marathons and I was able to start this wonderful life of adventure.

I believe that adventure is available to us all and all it takes is that first step.