Running helps you take life in your stride

Like Tom Vickery, I am also in the midst of a running streak – in my case of nearly nine years (Don’t break the streak! How a daily ritual can enrich your life – or become an unhealthy obsession, 8 September). I too have gone out for a short jog after a hard day cycling, or woken at 5am for a run because I wouldn’t get another chance that day.

I see it no differently to brushing my teeth or making my bed – a healthy habit that instils something positive in every single day. My brother, on the other hand, thinks that I have ruined running for myself by making it compulsory. I disagree – I still take immense pleasure in the great runs, even if they are scattered among perfunctory ones. It isn’t compulsory – it’s a choice I make every day, and my streak is something I have achieved through dedicated effort and take pride in.

I have taken a flight to Indonesia, and can reassure Tom that it is possible to get a good hour of running in by visiting every gate of Singapore airport on the layover.
Lawrence Harris
Carmarthen

• Mention of Tom Vickery and the extraordinary lengths he goes to to achieve his daily 30-minute run reminded me of when we went on safari for two weeks and I was training hard for the London marathon.

I perfected the art of running on the spot on the veranda of our safari lodge for hours on end rather than take my chance with the wildlife marauding outside. I am still doing 5km every day eight years later, running on the spot, as I did on the cross-Channel ferry last week.
David Whitney
Hathersage, Derbyshire

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