10 reasons why I love running – and they're not what you'd expect

My running is going as well as it can for a 40-something novice who's only been doing it since June. I'm super slow and last in everything but somehow I don't care.

In addition to my motivation being eventually to raise money for animals, I've also realised that there are other reasons why I run. However, they're not the usual ones of getting fit and losing weight. If I do either of those things you won't find me complaining, but I'm no supermodel size yet, and Mo Farah and Usain Bolt have nothing to fear.

No, that's not why I run. If it were I wouldn't sill be doing it. What keeps me going are elusive, subtle things that only occurred to me after I started. Things that had I gone looking for them probably wouldn't have materialised:

– You meet interesting, inspirational people with amazing stories to tell, and who only wish you well in your own running journey.

– Running itself is a friend. No matter how bad the rest of the day has been I can always say, "Well at least I had a run." Even if it wasn't a great run. Any run is better than no run, and I always feel better for it.

– How do I feel better? My body feels it's done what it was made to do, and I feel lighter and leaner, which, as any woman will tell you, is almost better than actually being so. Running also clears my head of clutter.

– That's because running is good for the brain, it gets blood pumping through the veins way more than crosswords or Sudoku.

– Running can help with depression. Not only does it help to get you out of your head, but it helps get those happy chemicals pumping around your system.

– Running also helps me feel more capable of tackling other things. If I run early during the day, I'm set up for the day. If I run later in the day it helps me get a second wind.

– Running is measurable. You can see and feel yourself getting better, running distances and times you never dreamed possible. It gives you a strong, clear sense of achievement that you can track not only in terms of distance and speed, but also in terms of endurance. While the physical pain of running can be a real shock at first, and hills can be killers, it does get easier. As the runners I know keep telling me, the hills are my friends, the hills are my friends...

– I lose all self-consciousness when I'm running. In fact, I'm becoming quite defiant about it. I really don't care about my sweaty face or how fat my arse looks in Lycra, the fact is I'm running and you in your big car there – you're not.

– Running gives you time to yourself. It literally puts distance between you and whatever's bothering you. You can temporarily leave things behind, at your desk, in your house... With the wind in your hair you can forget about anything (and find solutions to problems too). It's a form of meditation.

– There's no messing about with running, you can't fool yourself about it. As Steve Cracknell said when interviewed about the Great North Run, running always finds you out. There's no hiding place, you either do it or you don't. There's a purity and transparency about it that I love.