When I was in high school Mary, I was never chosen to be in a sporting team. That was the privy of the select few. So as far as I was concerned, I was a sporting dud.

When I married my husband that all changed. He was an A-grade squash player, butt was good at most sports.

And then he took up running.

Now what is a girl to do?

I went out that week and bought a fabulous pair of runners. I too would be good.

But I found I couldn't even run downhill from our house. So, I set myself a challenge. I would run ten steps, walk ten steps.

The first time I managed the short circuit around where we lived, I arrived home gasping for breath, but I never looked back.

I never ever stopped on the route, and soon I was running 5km, 10km, and eventually, marathons.

On one occasion my in-laws came to visit, as a surprise. We had entered for the Canberra fun run that day, but they were fine with that.

When we finished the race, my MIL asked who was faster, my husband, or me?

When she learned that I'd beaten her SON< she said, "Oh well, Alistair, you were obviously just having a bad day," to which, bless him, he answered, "No, Maria is a faster runner than I am."

I loved him for that. I had so much more to prove than he had.