Written by Anne Grethe Solberg, chairman of the board of Oslo Maraton AS. 

I love to run, preferably long and slow. The time or number of kilometers does not matter. Now I have even stopped competing with myself. The fascinating thing is what's going on inside my head. At the beginning of the trip "I feel" where the trip will go. The choice is made based on what mood I am in. It may be to the city among lots of people or it may be on a quiet forest road. I decide on a goal that can be a building, a hill or a tree.

First, it takes some time to deal with the stress thoughts. The problems spin around inside your head. but after a short time I notice that the consciousness turns outwards. The negative thoughts disappear and I notice sounds, smells and temperature. Suddenly another runner says hello. I greet with my hand, feel that I am tired, think briefly about the goal of the trip and start counting my steps so as not to focus on how far it is left. Having a goal of where I am going makes it easier to keep going. It's like putting on an autopilot. It simplifies the motivational work and shuts out the doubt.

The biggest thing is to experience a foreign city continuously. It is something completely different than hauling in and out of buses and lanes. The run can go to churches, museums or simply as I like best, see how people live. Look into the stairwell and fantasize about how life they have. In this way, a window is opened to their reality that one does not get with normal tourist behavior

After the run, I am rewarded with food, the feeling of having been on a little vacation and am ready to clean up the problems. . . . tomorrow.

Anne Grethe is chairman of the board of Oslo Maraton AS and has run 7 marathons the first when she was 52 years old.