WHO runs more than one marathon? Someone with a short memory.

At the end of every marathon, Peter would vow ‘Never again.’ Yet his memory persistently failed him and he’d sign up for another one. My boss at work is an ‘ultra’ runner; running only really begins at a marathon. He trains running the sort of distances that I drive. But his life has now become a constant battle against injuries incurred during training with weekly physio sessions to help him reach his next goal.

Once spring has sprung, the marathon season isn’t far behind, making those of us who dabble on the streets of Salisbury and the paths of the surrounding hills, feel guilty.

‘I’m sure I could manage a half marathon…’ said Tina confidently. I’m certain I couldn’t… As a charity fundraiser, I’ve watched marathons, entered teams for marathons (on one occasion a team of bishops, who, try as I might, couldn’t be persuaded to run in cassock and mitres).

One of the charities I worked for even owned and managed one of the national half marathons – I found myself arranging first aid, signing off risk assessments and negotiating TV and sponsorship deals for a major UK athletic event… But I’ve never actually run one before.

My reasoning is simple. It’s not because I don’t think I can do it. I’m not inactive and arrogant to think that with the right support I could probably just about manage it. After all, with one or two elite exceptions, most marathon runners are not super athletes, just ordinary people who have discovered that the right sort of exercise unleashes endorphins, that the highs one experiences while running greatly outweigh the pain and discomfort one endures pushing oneself to the limit. But to run the requisite 26.2 miles, you must train properly for it, or else, as my boss has discovered, your body rebels and starts to fight back.

The plain truth is that I am simply not prepared (or as I would tell myself, do not have the time) to put in the hours of training and preparation required to run a marathon. I marvel less at marathon runners’ athletic achievements, more at their time management. I am defeated, not at the first hill but at the sight of the training schedule.

This year, I confidently predict, will be no different. I will assure my son that he won’t have to look at TV pictures of his dad collapsing by the side of the road, or suffer the indignity of witnessing his coming in last – struggling to complete the course before the finish line is packed away.

I have decided, once again, not to run the marathon and focus my efforts instead on trying to organise my life and my time in such a way that if I did want to run a marathon, I could...