Last year I worked out I’d run 2,728kms – or the equivalent of running from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and back.

However the benefit that running has on my life and my Manchester-based digital transformation agency Sputnik Digital can’t be measured in numbers alone.

I try and run 10km a day and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I do my best thinking when I’m running.

It gives me a clarity that you just don’t get sitting behind a desk.

I’ve even had running meetings with clients – it’s so much more satisfying than having a coffee in a crowded coffee shop.

My love affair with running started relatively late in life and my only regret was that I didn’t discover it earlier.

I’d always been sporty but when I had a family, got a house and launched Sputnik in 2000 it fell down my list of priorities.

I didn’t have a car for a long time and would cycle everywhere.

However, with my daughter now grown up and more time on my hands, a friend (and client) suggested we run the Chester Marathon in October 2019 and I’ve never looked back since.

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I did three months’ training for the marathon and when the race stopped I just carried on running.

Running is so accessible. You can put on a pair of trainers and some shorts and you’re off – rain, hail or shine.

As someone who works from home I’m very careful to factor in time for a run, preferably in the middle of my day.

Covid created an army of millions of home workers and it’s easy to go through the day and find you’ve not left the house.

When I go running I never listen to music or wear headphones. I find I train better if I let my legs find their own rhythm. You find you get attuned to how you’re feeling, and your pace changes at different stages of a run.

I like to let my mind wander which is great for finding inspiration and solutions to problems. I normally come back to my desk with a to do list bigger than when I went out!

Running club

Running has a reputation for being quite a solitary pastime but that all changed for me when I joined Chorlton Runners in 2019.

They have a community of around 700 runners of covering the full range of abilities, and it’s very welcoming and sociable. I’m not sure I’d have stuck at it without their support.

My first run with the club I turned up on my own to join their Sunday morning club run, and since then I’ve embraced fell running, cross country and a half marathon around Coniston. I have a shoe box of race numbers I’ve collected from running in a Chorlton Runners vest.

If I have a meeting in London I’ll always pack my trainers with me so I can hit the streets afterwards.

I’m 48 now and at the start of the year I broke my foot playing football, which prevented me running for six weeks. I couldn’t sit still and hated not running so much I retired from football altogether.  I don’t think it was a big loss to football!

My advice to other time-poor entrepreneurs like me is to take up running. You don’t spend hours commuting to the gym or washing down your bike after a long ride.

I ran my second marathon in Manchester last year, and shaved nearly an hour off my PB in a time of 3 hours 29 minutes and 47 seconds.

Later this year I’ve lined up the Cybi Coastal Marathon (not a PB course), as well as my second half ironman, in Finland, with my business partner and the same friend that got me into this in the first place.

In terms of what’s next, taking part in the Boston Marathon is on my bucket list but I’m just outside the qualifying time for my age so I’ll just have to get quicker or older!