Cathy, former British Woman Chess Champion, runs for Refuge (Photo: Barry Martin)

For 30 years, my idea of sport was chess - primarily a mental rather than physical activity. During my running training, though, I've found the traditional distinction between mind and body in sport is artificial. Just as the mental athleticism of chess requires physical fitness to sustain concentration over a long match, so the demands of endurance athletics require mental toughness. Optimum performance in both mind sports and physical sports depends, therefore, on the same two essential elements: a sound mind in a sound body. Not a new idea: "mens sana in corpore sano", the Romans called it. I've learned to respect the Romans.