Day 1: Saturday 17/02/07

Even as a young child I was never what you would call “sporty.” In school PE lessons, while I never went so far as to “forget” my kit (we all know how that backfires, when made to wear some foul-smelling pair of gym shorts that have been kicking around at the back of the PE office for 20 years), I was only too happy to stand at the side of the field with my hockey stick and chat, while others took centre stage.

However, this is all set to change. At the insistence of my editor, I have entered the Falmouth event of this year’s Race for Life, in aid of Cancer Research UK, as part of the Packet team. This is the diary of how one reluctant reporter changes the habits of a lifetime, in a bid to get fit and not disgrace herself come May 20.

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Today I register to take part. I am immediately £10 less well-off and have the prospect of months of hard work to look forward to; it is not an inspiring start.

I am under no illusions; my target is not to come first or to complete it in ten minutes, but simply to finish the three-mile course around Pendennis Point in under 30 minutes. One mile every ten minutes – that does not sound too hard, but I have a feeling this statement may come back to haunt me.

But I have an added incentive. In July last year, my good friend Gary Scott died from the fast-growing bone cancer Ewing’s Sarcoma, six months after being diagnosed with the disease; he was aged just 21. Throughout his short illness I watched him go from being a healthy, fit 21-year-old to become a shadow of his former self, yet every time I saw him it was he who told ME not to worry and to keep smiling. If I am not able suffer these minor hardships then I will be ashamed to call myself his friend.

So I am off to the gym, for the first of what I predict will be many training sessions. Before I leave I weigh myself: eight stone exactly. It will be interesting to see if this changes by the end.

Keep logging on for updates on training and to share your experiences.

Emma x