Heather Fell, Olympic silver medallist, writes about her life in the media and sports world.

THE active theme continued throughout my South African holiday and as I headed west along the coast the enthusiasm and opportunity for sport did not let up.

I am aware much of this is due to the climate in the southern hemisphere at this time of year; who could resist the allure of the outdoors with the fresh sea air and the deep warming sunshine?

I got a little carried away after completing the local Park Run, so much so that just a week later I had agreed to run a half marathon. Thankfully I was now down at sea level, although the 4am alarm call on Sunday morning did have me questioning my decision. Unlike in the UK no pre-entry was required, I could have so easily rolled over and ignored that alarm. Thankfully I had agreed to run it with a friend so quitting wasn’t an option.

Just as the sun was rising over the ocean hundreds of like minded, slightly crazy, runners set off along the quiet and picturesque route. It was only then that it dawned on me, I have not trained for such an event and my longest run in the last nine months probably equated to half the distance. This news then reached my legs at about 14 kilometres into the 21k race. As we meandered along the River Knysna towards the sea the stunning views with mist rising off the shimmering water and the hills appearing behind were just enough to distract my mind from the fatigue in my muscles.

Damage limitation was required and what better way to recover than a dip in the chilly waters off the Eastern Cape. This brought back memories of cross country races in Cornwall that were often followed with a dash into the Atlantic post run — the only difference being I did not need to worry about a possible hypothermic reaction!