People who want to train but not compete have always baffled me, even as a kid. In my gymnastics club, lots of the girls would try to weedle out of competitions. However, without exception everybody loved Gymfest- a non-competitive team event.

Athletics doesn’t have a Gymfest- it’s racing or nothing. I just can’t understand those who go through the indignity of almost vomiting on their feet three times a week without the pay-off of racing to the finish line. Many times I’ve said that I’d like to compete without having to train.

So that’s what I’ve just signed up for.

It’s been 4 months since I’ve so much as picked up a shot, and I’ve just entered the Scottish Indoor Pentathlon the weekend after next. Given that there were only 4 seniors in last year’s heptathlon and one of them has now moved to London, I might strike it lucky. I genuinely don’t know if I can remember how to hurdle, but the 2018 column is blank on my Power of 10 and I’d like to fix that.