I'm a great fan of participating in sport - a nice bit of aerobic activity releases lots of feel good hormones into your system, eases tension, and burns calories. I have enthusiasm for a variety of sporting activities:

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It's taken me a long time to come to running, all things considered. I only really started trying to run at all when I stopped cycling during my time in the south east of England, but it's now an essential part of my exercise patterns. Much of this change has been down to the realisation that you need to change shoes rather more frequently than I had thought!

My favoured style of running is distance running - I have a goal to run the Portland Marathon, and the runs I have enjoyed most have all been at least five miles long. I had hoped to participate in the 2003 Portland Marathon, but I suffered a persistent knee injury which prevented me from continuing my training. Treatment for this is ongoing, and I am optimistic that I'll be able to go the distance in 2004.

As I say, shoes... running shoes are not cheap. A good pair will cost $80 to $100 (£50-£60) and to avoid injury you need to change shoes every 300 miles (at least in my case, but I land hard - softer runners might get 500 miles out of a pair). Hence a runner might replace their shoes every three months, but that is still going to be a better deal than the costs of treatment for injured joints, tendons and muscles.

That's about the only major recurring expense for running, though - shorts and other running gear are no more expensive than for any other physically demanding sport, and since you tend to run on public access routes there are not likely to be large costs involved there. Entry fees for races might mount up, but you'll never need to buy another T shirt again if you run in many races.

Running is just a good value sport, as long as you can steer clear of injury.

I used to hate running with a passion born of being forced to stumble 1500m at school when I could barely run 100m, but now I find running is something I enjoy a lot when I can run, and miss a great deal when I can't.

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Cycling is a lot of fun, but... the last time I touched this page in 1999, I wrote this:

Oh dear.

This section was originally going to be a paean of praise to the sport of cycling: the pleasure of maintaining speed along a road; the challenge of chunking up a hill; the glee at beating your own personal best. But that was before I gave it up.

The thing is, you see, that I've done most of my cycling around Nottingham and the North of England [...] covering literally thousands of miles over the four years I was riding there without a serious accident [...].

Then I started working in the South.

I've had two bikes down here, and both of them have been written off in potentially life threatening accidents having ridden less than 800 miles.

[...]

So, I'm taking this as a sign - I've written off my last bicycle, and it is not going to be replaced. I am sad about this, because cycling has given me an immense amount of pleasure over the years from riding, maintenance, and guerilla navigation. But the risk is too great.

C'est la vie.

One final word -

WEAR A HELMET You may think you look silly, but you'll look a lot sillier not being able to feed yourself after a head injury.

I am delighted to say that things have moved on in the last four years. I am living in a much more bike friendly area, and did the Right Thing this time of getting a bit fitter before I started cycling again in earnest. I am still not riding anywhere near as much as I did in Nottingham, but I am enthusiastic about it again and fully intend to do long distance rides next summer (if only as an element of corss training for my running).

I still think it is an excellent idea to wear a helmet, though.

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Since I tend to just enjoy sport and physical activity for its own sake, volleyball is in fact the only team sport I like to play.

I tend to think of volleyball as being a bit like badminton, except with a higher net, six on each side, and a ball rather than a shuttlecock.

So not much like badminton at all, really.

Volleyball is usually played with two teams of six. The aim, after the ball has been served, is to return within three touches and either to ground the ball in your opponents' half of the court, or to force them to send the ball outside of the bounds of the court. A team only scores points on their serve, and the first team to fifteen wins (this is where it is like badminton).

After that things get more complicated, with a team rotating when it wins the serve (so everyone has an opportunity to play all positions) and there being specialised roles within a team (the setter, for instance, will always take the second touch and lay up the ball for a hard hit over the net).

It's ace.

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Fencing is derived from European sword fighting from the Renaissance onwards. There are three weapons:

• foil - the lightest and most flexible blade, this is the weapon one usually learns first. The aim is to strike your oppenent's target area (the upper body excluding the head and arms) 'in time', that is where you have the initiative.

• sabre - derived from the cavalry sword, this is again a conventional weapon like foil. However, the target area is different (the whole upper body, head and arms are valid targets) and you are permitted to strike with the edge of the blade.

• epée - the heaviest and stiffest weapon. This is based on the duelling rapier (as used by the Three Musketeers) and is the closest in spirit to sword fighting since there are no conventions, and any part of your opponent is a valid target. Knees and toes are particularly favoured.

I still mainly fence foil.

I personally enjoy fencing because it can be quite technical - I'm not a terribly good fencer (indeed, the word 'bad' seems descriptive) but I get a kick out of studying the terminology, understanding the different manoeuvres, and learning the various responses to your oppenent's attacks. The fact that I am incapable of then executing these responses is just one of those little ironies.

Fencing is also a physically demanding sport: to fence well, one has to remain alert, maintain the proper stance, and be relaxed enough to react instantly; at the same time, you are wearing a padded tunic and mask which are quite warm.

I know it all sounds ghastly, but there is nothing quite like the thrill of being on the piste and of finally besting an opponent who has beaten you many times before.

Having said all of that, I have not fenced actively in something like four years now; I occasionally take a foil out and practice my footwork, but I have yet to seek out a fencing club. Perhaps strangely, I still consider myself a fencer.

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