“1,000 years from now there will be no guys and no girls, just wankers. Sounds great to me”

Mark Renton, Trainspotting

2026 is rubbish number isn’t it? It’s neither nowt nor something as we say round here. Look at it written down. Rubbish. Say it out loud. Rubbish. At least 2025 sounded a bit sexy. Like we were in the future.

But 2026 it is. Maybe it will be a grower. Like a bands difficult second album.

Running wise, it’s set to be another busy year. It will also be a year of plateauing and managing expectations. As I mentioned in the bumper Christmas Special, 2025 was the best running year I’ve ever had. PBs tumbled in every distance. I expect that in 2026 they won’t – and that’s ok.

I also got lucky in 2025 with things like the weather, plus a lack of either injury or illness. The stars seemed to align.

Just like 2025, I’m keeping my goals for 2026 simple and (hopefully) achievable. The main one being a sub 4 hour Marathon. Project 3:59 if you want to give it a wanky name.

Where do I hope to achieve this epic feat? After much deliberation and research, I finally decided on the Solway Coast Marathon in June.

It ticks lots of boxes for me. I did the ‘big city’ Marathon as my first one because I wanted the ‘happening’ around the run. The Expo, the atmosphere, the crowds. It was brilliant and massively added to the experience.

Second time round, I’m going for the complete opposite. There will be no crowds here – it’s all country road – and last year only 72 runners did it. It’s almost going to be like a very scenic long training run, but someone will give me a medal at the end.

It’s also only an hour and a half drive away. So no big epic effort in time, logistics, or money to get there. As it’s June, I won’t have to start the training cycle till March – Spring instead of manky January.

Sounds great doesn’t it? Lots of pros. There is one potential con though, and it could be a biggie – the weather.

In particular, the heat. Because running a Marathon in the middle of the summer might not be a brilliant idea. Yes it’s the UK, yes it’s Cumbria, but the chances of it being warm are much higher than a Spring/Autumn one.

So that might put the kibosh on a 3:59. But you know, if it is warm, then bollocks to the sub 4 hour. I’ll just have a nice summer plod around it, enjoy the scenery and work on my tan. I’m philosophical about these things.

Other than that, I have other races lined up throughout the year. Already confirmed and signed up for are the North Tyneside Trail run in January (idiot), the North Tyneside 10k in April, the Cookson 10k in May, and the Great North Run in September. I’m pretty sure that there will be more as the mood takes me.

So, 2026, here we come. Lots of good running to look forward to, another Marathon cycle to complete, and hopefully the magic sub 4 hour will be delivered.

Happy New Year, whatever your goals are in the next 12 months. Whether it’s returning to running, staying injury free, or completing a Half or Full Marathon for the first time.

Just remember the golden rule that I bore everyone with on here – enjoy it.

Because if it was easy, everyone would do it.