Welcome

Hello! A few months ago I started jogging regularly and rather liked it. I also decided I wanted to blog, because that's what all the cool kids seem to be doing. My good friend Ed displayed his genius by suggesting I merge the two and blog about running. But what if I quit the jogging? So we agreed that if I was still running in 3 months time, I'd take the plunge. True to my word, here I am. I still wonder if this is all a ploy on Ed's part to stop me boring him to death and divert my efforts elsewhere. If so, well played mate.

It's very difficult and annoying to have to explain to so many people why I've suddenly become so interested in running. From now on I can just refer them to this blog. I've always been wary of blogs because they seem like an excuse for people to pretend that the world actually cares about what they have to say. Even if that isn't the case here (and I'm realistic enough to assume it isn't), this will at least allow me to keep track of my progress. If it helps generate any publicity for any races I enter, then that's a welcome bonus. Running is an excellent way of raising funds for charity and I hope to exploit that as much as possible.

It's also a welcome distraction from what will be a period of intense work. I'm coming towards the end of the 2nd year of a 3-4 year PhD course in Mathematics, except I really haven't put in the hours to suggest I'm anywhere near half way through. It's time to take action and I envisage long nights in dull libraries. Thinking about it, this blog could be the key to maintaining any sanity I have left.

I will no doubt drift off into stuff other than running, which will probably mean numerous references to my other passion in life; Countdown. I appeared on the show last year and, after a few bribes, came away as series winner. I continue to play online and in real life tournaments (as opposed to make believe ones). Given how opiniated I am about everything, even stuff I don't have a clue on, I'll probably end up chatting about the most random things. But that's what blogging seems to be about anyway. So expect film reviews, sports reviews, lots of anagrams but mostly some musings about running.

Oh...I will upload a better profile pic soon!