Hi, I’m Pete, a personal trainer based in the Blackdown Hills.

I’ve always been active and interested in my health. At York University, I played squash and hockey and loved getting out into the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales to walk; it’s an area that still has a strong pull on me.

Not long after the Berlin Wall came down, a group of us did a charity ride from London to Moscow.

Athletically it was easier than you might think, but the memories from doing this have lasted for years.

One of the highlights was cycling into Red Square with a police escort.

I’m not sure we would be welcomed quite so much today.

I read this week that people want to add "running a marathon" to the midlife crisis symptoms!

I don’t think I was old enough to be considered midlife when I started running marathons.

They included London, which has to be one of the best-supported events I’ve ever done - 26 miles of people cheering you on, a fantastic experience.

Triathlons have been a large part of my athletic life for many years.

I started out with events at Bath and also Burnham-on-Sea, although sadly this event no longer runs.

Latterly, having joined the Somerset RC Tri club, based in Taunton, I’ve ventured into bigger and longer races, including Ironman distances at Bolton and Wales.

My favourite local race is the Langport Triathlon which has a great atmosphere and one of the best events to get started in triathlon - it runs in September so still plenty of time to enter.

Despite being so active, most of my working life has been in software development.

Whilst I was good at this, it wasn’t my passion and last year I decided on a complete career change and became a personal trainer.

As a PT I can help people achieve their fitness and health goals, this can be losing weight, completing the Long Meadow parkrun in Taunton, racing a triathlon or aging with more strength and health.

Watching my parents get older, I realised that aging can be a humbling and sometimes painful experience.

However, I now know that there is so much that we can all do to keep healthy, retain our independence and live the best life that we can.

Over the next few months, I shall be sharing my thoughts on this and many other health and fitness topics.

If you would like more information about how I can help you get fitter, stronger and healthier, then visit coachpete.co.uk.