diff --git a/snapraid-runner.conf.example b/snapraid-runner.conf.example
index 419cc41..0cc615f 100644
--- a/snapraid-runner.conf.example
+++ b/snapraid-runner.conf.example
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [snapraid]
-; path to the snapraid executable
-executable =
+; path to the snapraid executable (e.g. /bin/snapraid)
+executable = snapraid
 ; path to the snapraid config to be used
 config = snapraid.conf
 ; abort operation if there are more deletes than this, set to -1 to disable
diff --git a/snapraid-runner.py b/snapraid-runner.py
index 8c768b6..14afd88 100644
--- a/snapraid-runner.py
+++ b/snapraid-runner.py
@@ -217,11 +217,12 @@ def run():
     logging.info("Run started")
     logging.info("=" * 60)
 
-    if not os.path.exists(config["snapraid"]["executable"]):
-        logging.error("Snapraid executable does not exist at " +
-                      config["snapraid"]["executable"])
+    if not os.path.isfile(config["snapraid"]["executable"]):
+        logging.error("The configured snapraid executable \"{}\" does not "
+                      "exist or is not a file".format(
+                          config["snapraid"]["executable"]))
         finish(False)
-    if not os.path.exists(config["snapraid"]["config"]):
+    if not os.path.isfile(config["snapraid"]["config"]):
         logging.error("Snapraid config does not exist at " +
                       config["snapraid"]["config"])
         finish(False)