Guest post by Sally Kettle.

I run, but not very well, my arms spin like windmills and my feet land with the subtlety of an elephant but, on occasion, I can pull off a marathon; but it’s through running that I’ve learnt a very valuable lesson. ‘You can be your own worst enemy!’ Once the mind starts chattering you can literally turn every pounding footstep into a torturous experience.

But why running, when the title of this blog is ‘No Hope on the Boat’? Well, in 2004 I rowed across the Atlantic for the first time; by 2006 I’d rowed it again becoming the first woman to do so. As I write, I’m just a day away from sailing back across the Atlantic in a 68ft racing yacht.

You’d think with that experience I’d have all the confidence in the world? I’ve been there and done it; the trouble is I am as nervous and anxious now as I was standing on the pontoon for my first rowing attempt. It seems these things never get any easier. My imagination has run away with itself turning my preparations into an exercise of torturous self-doubt! continue