I approach my running in a similar way to the way I approach my life. I feel secure and comforted if I am in control and can plan ahead. Those close to me know that surprises scare me and stress me out.

There’s a ritual that allows me in some small way to have control of my race: the laying out of my running kit the night before each race.

I start from the bottom up: running shoes, socks with the red stripe, running shorts, running top, warm top, running bra, running cap, running watch, head band, hair clips and sunglasses.

I also have a pair of small pearl earrings which serve two purposes. The first is that I do believe they give me good luck. The second is that with no make-up on (think albino) and my hair tied back, I feel at least a little pretty. And just in case I bump into someone I know.

In addition to that, I also read the race review in the Nedbank Runner’s Guide and do extra hill or speed work at the gym with my personal trainer.

But no matter how prepared I am, what my running has taught me is that some things are beyond my control. The weather, the traffic, the queues at the loos before the start of each race. Some things I just cannot prepare for. But that’s okay… it really is.

And so too in life, I can only be as prepared as I can be.

My next mission is to try and work on my ‘mental preparation’. This is still where my biggest challenge lies.

In November 2010, I was asked if I would like to blog about my running experiences, especially my build-up to Two Oceans Half Marathon in April 2011. Having missed the cut-off time in 2010 (I don’t wanna talk about it!), I reluctantly declined, fearing that if I missed cut-off again, I would have alerted all the readers of my blog of my failure and would never forgive myself or get over it. The shame would be too great to overcome. (stupid me!)

I actually did manage to make cut-off for this year’s Two Oceans. It was one of the most wonderful achievements of my life and I regretted not being able to share what it meant for me with others. The build-up to the race, the training, the dieting, the injuries. But most of all the mental war that I fought daily convincing my body and my mind that I was capable of doing it.

With a 21.1km cut-off time of 3 hours for majority of the races I run, I not only have the stress of ensuring I can run the distance, but the added stress of trying to do it within the cut-off time when I know that my running pace is 8mins/km. My running has therefore become more of a mental challenge.

A good friend of mine has always told me that I do in fact have a story to tell. That there most probably are other people out there who have the same struggles with running as I do and that I can be an inspiration to them. (I love you Conrad!).

It was only recently when I was invited to a Bloggers meetup that someone who follows me on Twitter made the comment, “Bron, you’ve passed 20 000 tweets on Twitter, maybe it’s time for you to start your own blog”.

I knew exactly what I wanted to blog about…

Running a half marathon takes me just under 3 hrs. I get to do a lot of thinking in 3 hours. Mostly about my life, people I love, my fears, my hopes.

My blog will take you on that journey – one of me trying to make cut-off time and the other, all the thoughts filling my head while I run.