Bristol Evening Post reporter Simon Peevers is planning to run a half marathon in September.

To help him prepare for the tough task ahead he took part in a 10 kilometre run - which quickly turned into a five kilometre run.

As Simon set off on his first competitive road run, he was confident that he'd be able to go the distance. But far from being a walk in the park, Simon describes it as "hell".

He said: "Unfortunately, as the horribly fit looking and able club and regular runners dashed off around Nailsea to do their 10km in record breaking time, I was running a different race.

"The excuse I am sticking to is that my right calf was playing up and it was a wise move to pull out after trying to run the injury off, not wanting to make it even worse.

"In reality, I just couldn't do it. My lungs were bleeding, my heart bulging and my will just wasn't there."

In hindsight, Simon admits he may have let the training slip, spending more time on the pub and club circuit than the training circuit - but he's hoping to use his disappointing performance to his advantage.

He said: "Rather like Sven Goran Eriksson, I am going to look at the positives of the performance rather than the obvious negatives, such as being crap.

"Just over two months ago I took the plunge and decided to take on probably the biggest challenge of my life up to now.

"Job interviews and cramming for a few exams pale into insignificance compared to what I was setting out to do.

"But I know I could never have run five kilometres before now and that can only be a plus point when you are starting from scratch."

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail pastill@nep.co.uk