Let’s get this straight to start with: I’m not a runner.

At school, I was the girl that slunk back to avoid cross-country. I couldn’t run for more than ten minutes without feeling like I was about to die. I just am not built to be a runner.

Last spring, after a bottle of wine or two, a group of mates and I decided to sign up to a half marathon.

The next morning I instantly regretted it. Yet somehow, I managed to drag myself out of the house three times a week to pound the pavement, in the hope that I would just about make it over the finish line.

Clearly I am by no means an expert, but here are few things I learnt when prepping for my first half marathon…