The use of Tenses Hi Sally, I want to tell you about amazing time I _had_ running in the London marathon this year. I _have always been_ terrible at sport, especially at school, so I never thought I _would succeed_! Did you know that two athletes and a journalist started the London marathon in 1981 and that the course is over forty-two kilometers long? I _had been training_ for six months. Can you believe that I _went_ running every morning? – to make sure I _would finish_ the race. I also raised 500 pounds for charity which was a great feeling. It’s fantastic _to feel_ part of something so big and successful. I _heard_ that over 30,000 people ran this year. Of course, the weather was typical: it _rained_ on the day, but all the runners kept warm by running so much! How about _running_ in the marathon with me next year? Love, Ted Just one correction: just use the simple past in the first sentence: "...amazing time I had...". You are referring to a finished past event and there is no obvious connection with the present, so you don't need the present perfect...