Thank you for joining us – you’ve made the right choice to join this programme.  As the old saying goes - do one thing everyday that scares you but with our accelerated FEAR programme here at Runalong The Shelves we think we can easily push you off that cliff I mean through the trapdoor erm the pain barrier.

As we all know (yes, we googled this and found it on the first page so it must all be true!) fear can heighten your awareness of your surroundings; improve both your focus and powers of concentration when you search for escape routes and apparently also helps in removing barriers; breaking up a routine and activates ‘championship mentality’ – who knew!! Over the next 7 days taking you up to the 31st this programme of reading will take you to wonderful new places; meet interesting ahem beings and place yourself in a great cardio routine.  Our excellent kind-hearted expert Dr R Womble Esq will now explain today’s programme and hand out your syllabus reading material

Day 1 – Meet New People Then Run for Your Life

The first order of business is really more about broadening the mind. For Friday I want you to get to know your Monsters.

Monsters and their myths are both truly global and show the differences and the similarities in our various cultures. Today’s award-winning syllabus is provided by the Magret Hegadottir and the amazing Fox Spirit Books. Each volume looks at a particular area of the globe and importantly uses either local authors or authors with ties to the area.  What I love about the series is the huge variety of tale and authors presented yet we possibly see that some fears are common, and some are dictated by the environment. I recommend the entire set and eagerly await it’s next edition but two to start you off are Asian Monsters and the most recent edition American Monsters. Important learning skills on today’s module – know your surroundings; understanding the tell-tale signs of something that may want to eat you and to always bring a torch.

For the advanced student you can also try your luck against a higher power, but we make no assurances of success unless you know your legends. To aid/warn you I recommend a course of the brilliant and funny Food of the Gods by Cassandra Khaw where cannibal chef Rupert Wong will guide you across some pantheons or if you fail then will make you into a memorable meal. Bon appetit!

If you’ve any recommendations for future syllabus material add to the comments below!