Graham, our Run Zone club chairman, has a thing about the word “just”. A typical conversation with him after a club or time trial run would go like this:

Graham: “Well done! How far did you run?”

Me: “Just 5 (or whatever other distance) km today.”

Graham: “It is never JUST 5 km! Well done!”

But it gives me great pleasure to say that today’s run was JUST 21 km (actually it was a few hundred metres short, but let’s not get stuck on technicalities). The word “just” means that I have worked so hard that I can claim 21 km as being well within my capabilities. I have the fitness, the strength and the endurance to run 21 km, it is only my right foot that is holding me back on pace — and that I am trying to work on as best I can.

Yes, it is never JUST 21 km, but never have I ever thought I would be able to say: “Just 21 km today.”