So here it is…

….it’s CHRIST-MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS! Well, nearly. And Iron Mum wishes you a very happy, jolly time, filled with love and laughs.

Top tip: a running habit comes in very handy over the Christmas season. When you just can’t look another mince pie in the face, when the family are driving you nuts, when you feel your eyes glazing over in front of yet another rerun: slip on your trainers, slip out the door with a mumbled apology, and create some space and peace for yourself. Run as slow as you like, or as fast as you need to. Listen to a playlist with not a single Christmas song on it, or enjoy birdsong and wind in the trees, or (if you’re unlucky) the sound of your feet ploshing through puddles. It’s the only way I know to survive the season with goodwill intact, and with only a couple of obligatory, token pounds of extra weight to shed in January.

The Christmas story is so familiar and comfortable, but it’s also full of wonder and challenge, so if you want to get a spiritual workout as well as a physical one, no matter what your faith or beliefs, take some time to reflect while you run. You just might come back with a new peacefulness amid all the madness. And enough energy to whoop the kids at Just Dance 4.

Image: David Locke, "Christmas lights at sundown adventure park". 29 Nov 2009. Online image, Flickr 23 Dec 2013 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidlocke/3072949656/>