Lay in warm bed this morning, listening to wind whipping trees, rain hammering down and said to Ads, “not sure if I want to go running.”

“Now babe. That is when you know whether you are a real runner or not.”

Pushed self up onto one elbow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, put it this way. A real fisherman would go and fish in this weather. I wouldn’t. That means I’m not a Real Fisherman. But if I had to play football in the rain, I wouldn’t care. I’d love it.”

“Which means you’re a Real Footballer?”

Ads smiled and nodded.

I pressed my lips together. Looked at my running stuff all folded in a nice dry little pile. Was I really a Real Runner or was I just a fair-weather runner?

Took a deep breath.

I was a Real Runner.

Got up out of a cosy bed, put on my jogging gear, fought my way into Mum’s flowery blue pack-a-mac which has been in the cloakroom for months and ventured out into the wild, windy, Real Runner’s world.

Within minutes I was moving through a great clockwork musical machine of organic elements. Leaves scuttered down through the ricoshading raindrops. The road was carpeted with pine needles and branches and mulchy autumn debris. I saw a drenched mouse run into the woodland. My body was warm in my pack-a-mac. I could feel that amazing body-strength that is gorgeousness itself. My little soul was all awe-filled, ringing out to be experiencing Nature’s raw diversity whilst running on legs that can run!

I’m a Real Runner!

PS. You can apply the Real question to all sorts of areas in your life. When we’re trying to achieve success and things are going well then everything flows. It is when the wind starts howling, the nights get longer, the rain pinpricks our cheeks that our true resolve is tested. This is when we find out whether just how far we are willing to go and what we’re prepared to face to get to where we want to be – mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, materially and spiritually.