It might be just me, but over the last month or so I’ve noticed a bunch of writers that are also runners. It started with Steph Convery’s blog post and then as I outed myself as someone getting into running again, a bunch of other writers came out.

I’ve also come across Haruki Murakami’s memoir on marathon running and novel writing, What I talk about when I talk about running. It’s not just a coincidence. Perhaps there’s a common personality trait in some writers that leads them to complete long distances, like long stories. Both are simple. Running is a simple sport, you don’t need any real equipment and writing is a simple art form, again, no need for fancy equipment.

I’ve been running again for over a month now. It was the only sport I was any good at in High School, but haven’t really done it since. At first it was hard running again, but now it’s getting easier and I’m becoming addicted to it. So with a group of friends, I’ve entered the 10km run of the Melbourne Marathon. I always wanted to do a long-distance race, like The City to Surf when I lived in Sydney. One day I’ll get there with that one.

I’ve begun training and am aiming to run under 55 minutes. I’m also using it to raise money for the campaign for refugee rights. You can donate via my GoFundMe page. All donations will go to the Refugee Action Collective (Victoria). This way I can make my training go to a good cause and the donations coming through will spur me on.