Most small children love running. They need little encouragement to do so. Primary, and prep, school playgrounds are full of the constant buzz of physical activity. PE lessons featuring running and athletic activities are enthusiastically pursued.

Fast forward ten years. The great majority of adolescents are reluctant runners. House Cross Country events rarely present a school at its best. Lessons with a substantial running component quickly categorise themselves into the compliant athletes, the reluctant runners and the early walkers.

And yet another ten years further on, many of the same people have returned to running. Park Run, Race...

Adventure has always been part of being human. From the early explorers who discovered that the world wasn’t as flat as it seemed, through to the invention of the Gap year. Discovery, surprise and uncertainty have always held appeal. Unpredictability is always potentially exciting or terrifying – and has been since dinosaurs roamed the planet.

This human inclination is repressed by a risk assessment culture. The principle of foreseeing and denying risk is at odds with the fundamental appeal of novelty and discovery. It might be sensible and functional, but it opposes the human desire for excitement.

A...

The industry of sport coaching is a recently evolved one. Before the 1970s, few teams had anything that could be described as a coach. Other than to transport them to the game. Indeed, many would have been offended by the implication of the concept. Perhaps more shocking, cones had not been invented. Any rudimentary team organisation was overseen by the captain. “Game Plans” and “Systems” were in their absolute infancy.

Fifty years have seen a huge cultural shift. No self respecting team would be without a coach, whatever its performance level. Player dependency is absolute: coach centricity is unquestioned....