I’m still not sure why I’ve signed up to run the Hastings half marathon this year. It’s a whim that crept up on me slowly... something to do with Felix from Wave Design who ran last year to raise funds for Active Arts... and Steve from Hastings Voluntary Action who started running just over a year ago and has morphed from fire-side labrador shape to pared-down greyhound. But it’s also a desire to tread the streets of my town, to know the earth beneath my feet, and to finally find out where The Ridge goes.

Until I moved to Hastings, I’d  spent my life studiously avoiding anything which involved wearing trainers. It’s not just that they are the ugliest footwear ever created, it’s the way they scream out unnecessary physical activity at unnecessary expense. I am suspicious of any hobby that requires ‘specialist’ equipment. I am adept at cycling in either flip flops or high heels, I go camping with my duvet and a tent found at Glastonbury. I don’t do ‘sporty’.

The problem is, after years of a 30-second commute between my front door, my workplace and Morrisons, it’s been getting to the stage where ‘don’t do sporty’ was beginning to become ‘can’t do anything’. A couple of years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and sneaked out to buy my first pair of trainers. I began a strictly followed exercise regime of running around the bottom of Alexandra Park between nought and three times a week. Not being someone to set myself unachievable targets, I mostly achieved nought times a week.

So, early this January, it was hardly true to form when I  started checking out websites about running and discovered a handy nine-week training plan devised by Eric Hardwick, the director of Hastings Half Marathon. The training schedule starts with a 20 minute run and gently leads up, through a series of gentle walk/jogs, to running for 100 minutes. Distance is never mentioned. It all seemed as simple as reading a diet-plan. I decided I’d give it a try, but not tell anyone of my plans to enter the Half Marathon until I was sure I wasn’t going to fall at the first cream cake.

Like Hastings, my running plan has had its ups and downs, but I’ve stuck to the training schedule respectably. I’ve also enjoyed it immensely - even on dark early mornings when it’s been pouring with rain. I guess this is due to the endorphins released during prolonged exercise – it’s like going clubbing but dancing in a straight line.

I’ve got to know Hastings so much better. After nearly six years, I’ve finally been to Linton Gardens for the first time and I’ve become intimately acquainted with every twitten from Grey Owl’s Reach to Tamarisk Steps. Any road that I’ve ever gone past and wondered where it led is no longer a mystery to me.

I’ve also got to know Hastings Runners - previously they were only dark shadows thundering through the dark streets when I was on the way to the pub. I was really worried about going along to Horntye for my first running session. It was amazing to see so many people clustered into the changing rooms and stretching their legs outside. They were reassuringly normal - not too much flashy gear, a mix of ages and sexes and all surprisingly friendly. Going out with the ‘beginners’ group on Wednesday night has been essential to my training. It’s so much easier to get up hills when there are other people sharing the challenge.

I still find it hard to believe I’ll be running with the pack on16th March, but I’ve agreed to raise funds for The Sara Lee Trust, so cheer me on if you see me - or visitwww.saraleetrust.org if you would like to sponsor me.