Fancy becoming a runner, but can't quite find the motivation? Runners and authors John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield are on hand to help

Extract taken from The New Runner (Rodale)

As a young man, I had visions of becoming a racquetball player. I got all the equipment, bought the shoes, booked the court and got ready to go. A good friend agreed to teach me the game. His instructions were simple: 'Be the ball.' Be the ball? I had no idea what that meant. I couldn't even figure out how to hit the ball, let alone be the ball.

After a few weeks, though, the truth of what he said became clearer. As I focused less on where I was and what I was going to do, and more on where the ball as and what it was going to do, I suddenly found myself in a position to hit the ball more often. I still couldn't hit it where I wanted it to go, but at least I was beginning to get a sense of how the ball thought and acted and reacted to the game.

When I started running, I was trying to be a runner. I tried to control every aspect of what I was doing. The more I read about running, the more control I tried to exert on every aspect of my running.

I tried to run tall. I tried to run like I was being pulled on a string. I tried to run like there was a rubber band tied around my chest and pulling me forward. I tried to run like I was running on hot coals. I tried it all. Eventually I came to learn that the runner I wanted to be was inside my head. The runner that I was trying to become was already there in my mind, in my imagination. All I needed to do was to try to close the gap between what I imagined I could be and what I actually was.

I imagined myself running effortlessly. I imagined myself looking like an Ironman champion. I imagined myself running with a purpose, with a steady rhythm. When I was able to top looking at myself from the outside - when I stopped looking at the awful gait, the awkward form, the painfully slow pace and the complete lack of finesse - I started to look like a runner.

When I looked at myself from the inside out - when I listened to my heart beating; when I listened to my lungs working; when I listened to the sound of my feet hitting the ground, step after step, relentlessly carrying me forward - I started to feel like a runner.

I discovered for myself what most experienced runner already knew; ninety per cent of running is - to paraphrase Yogi Berra - 75 per cent mental. What prevented me from being a runner in the first place was that I couldn't imagine myself as a runner. And if you can't imagine it you can't do it. Once I imagined myself running, I was already on my way to becoming a runner.

What prevented me from running a 10k or marathon or any other distance was that I couldn't imagine myself doing it. It wasn't my body that was keeping me from achieving my dreams; it was my imagination.

Even as the changes in my body were becoming more obvious, even after the weight had started to come off and I was running on a regular basis, I was still imagining myself as I used to be, not as I was.

We have training programmes to take our bodies slowly and surely to greater distances and faster paces. We have guidelines on how much to run, how far, how fast and how often. But sometimes our bodies will get weeks and months ahead of our imaginations.

If you are running, you are a runner. If you are running, you have a right to imagine yourself running the way you want. If you are running, you have the privilege of thinking like a runner.

When I was a musician, I encountered the world as a musician. I saw, heard and experienced the world as a musician. I heard the melodies of life. I heard the harmony and discord around me. I heard the world as a symphony in which I was playing my small part.

Now I encounter the world as an athlete and a runner. I see and experience the world as a series of struggles and recovery. I take my running and apply it to my life. I know that there are good days and bad days. I know that there are days when easy is hard and hard is easy. I think like a runner even when I'm not running. I have a runner's mind no matter what I'm doing.

I see effort, any effort, as a necessary element of growth. I see that I need a pattern of stress and recovery in order to get stronger. I experience my body as a tool to help me achieve my goals, not simply as a vessel in which I have to live my life.

I have become the shoe. I am travelling the road without thought and without concern. I am moving forwards one step at a time. The last step is behind me; I can't change it. The next step is yet to come; I am not there yet.

Jenny's journey through 10 days in the jungles of Borneo and Fiji in the Eco-Challenge expedition races had an incredible effect on her mental game. In her first attempt, she stood at the starting line like a deer in the headlights with competitors from all over the world, thinking, 'Okay, only 10 days to go.' Very quickly she realised that wasn?t a good mental plan and began to break down the distance to smaller, more digestible pieces. Days turned into minutes and checkpoints. She mentally took herself through the race from checkpoint to checkpoint rather than trying to digest the whole race at once. Suddenly, she was racing and feeling positive about the smaller goals she reached, which allowed her and her team to ultimately finish the race.

'How can I do this? How is my body going to run a 5k race if I can't even get down my street?' These are real questions that can float around in our heads. Most people think them - and if they don't, they are worried about something else.

How do you get rid of that little voice that whispers in your ear, 'Stop, you can't do this; just hang up your shoes and go to the pub - you're doomed?'

Although it may seem that physical training is the key to successful running, it is mental fitness that is the foundation that supports everything you do. As with the physical, mental fitness grows through experience and time. Your mind is the control room for your body. If the guys in the tower are transmitting negative signals, imagine what will happen to your run.

If, however, you have an intervention with the guys in the tower and tell them there is a paradigm shift and we need to send out positive signals, you will run and smile, and your efforts will be much easier. If you have a run-in with a negative thought during your run or a worry about finishing, simply take a deep breath and focus on all the good things you've done thus far.

Relax...If you are having a rough day, slow your pace and mentally focus on taking it one step at a time. If you are having a great day, take notes on your thoughts during the workout. Most runs can be more joyful if you quiet the voices and tune in to what is going on around you.

How will you reach your goal if it seems daunting? A good adventure racing friend of ours once told Jenny, 'You can't eat an elephant in one bite, but you can eat it one bite at a time.'

Only think about the next few minutes or the mile ahead. Surrender to the fact that you will be out there for 30 minutes, 1 hour, or however long it will take you, and then develop a mental plan with shorter goals to get through it.

If you are run-walking, you already have a great mental plan. If you are running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute, all you have to do is focus on the next 5 minutes of running.

Take care of yourself nutritionally. If you get low blood sugar, your mind will be the first to fade, and you will slip into what we call the Bite Me Zone. That is an invitation to negative thoughts. Avoid skipping meals and keep your blood sugar levels stable all day.

If things get tough, think about how you want to feel after the run or race is over. Do you want to feel proud and excited about what you've just accomplished or sad about the outcome? In the expedition races I've run, I've thought about how things could always be worse. I could be running up a mountain or in sand or not feeling well, or I could have just sat on a cactus while trying to go to the loo. It can always be worse. Have faith in your training and in yourself. Believe you can do it. Scary as it can be, surrender to the unknown and enjoy every step you take. The training is your journey, and the races are the celebrations!

You are what you think. We all respond differently to the same scenario. John my get anxious about a longer run, and sometimes get fearful of a race. Our thoughts and emotions are based on our experience and self-talk or how we feel about ourselves.

Research indicates that athletes who perform optimally maintain a positive outlook. When we hold positive beliefs about ourselves, we will get positive outcomes: 'I am going to run 30 minutes today and finish the best I can.'

On the other hand, if we think negative thoughts, we tend to have more negative experiences: 'I'm doomed. I am never going to finish this run today.' The key is that you have the power to change your thinking process.

Jenny heads out for a 40-minute run after a long day. She is tired, feels crabbier normal and has little motivation. She can go into the run and continue to think negatively, or she can get out there, perhaps lower her expectations of the workout, and think about how much better she will feel when it's over. It's all about how we phrase things. Generally, the more positively we think, the better life feels. The more negatively we think, the more we struggle.

It is also fair to mention that having flexibility is important in a runners life. Let's say you decide to run a 5K race. You've been training all season and are ready to go. You've got your shoes and kit, and you've trained your body and mind for the challenge. The gun goes off, it starts to rain and your motivation disappears.

Because you're a first-timer, this could be enough outside stimulus to really throw you off your mental game. However, you've trained your mind to be flexible so you can deal with each obstacle as it comes you way. This is also a very important skill to use in everyday life. How many days are perfect?

The New Runner, by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield, published by Rodale, is available to buy from www.amazon.co.uk