I first realised I was unfit when I joined secondary school. Once a year we had to take part in the dreaded cross-country run. The overweight boys like me would always be left behind. So, we made a pact to walk the courseinstead. The rest of the boys had already got changed and was waiting by the finish line, jeering us as we came into sight – at which point we all burst into a sprint to avoid being the last one. That was the ultimate humiliation. It was the Eighties: a merciless time.
