‘Oh, oh look, Frank! It’s a toaster!’

The Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooged

As I write, the weather outside is frightful all right. And not in a roasting chestnuts round an open fire way either. It’s windy and it’s pissing down. Runners Kryptonite. I also think I have COVID, which is so 2020. Well, this is a depressing start to the Christmas special. Ho Ho Fucking Ho.

I’m a glass half full kind of guy though, so I’m not letting the last week of the year put a dampener on what has been a cracking 12 months of running for me. There have been a tonne of positives in 2023, most of which are sitting unfinished in Drafts because I’m too busy/useless to finish them. They’ll be great when they’re finished though, I promise.

Without further or do then, how did those goals I set at the start of the year go? Well..

• Update the notbuilttorun website – As predicted, this has gone tits up. Ironically, I’ve had one of my busiest running years ever so lots to write about. But I’ve also had one of my busiest working years ever as well. If this was a school report, it would state ‘must do better.’ In fact, I think most of mine did say that. I was once told in a Work Appraisal that ‘he consistently fails to fulfill his potential.’ I could never tell whether that was a compliment or not.
• Run 1,000 miles – Since 2018, I’ve hit the 1,000 miles mark every year. It’s always a nice target that I like to aim for. This year, I finished on 1,365 miles. When I checked back, this is my highest running total of any year ever. No wonder my hip hurts.
• Get a PB – Now, I popped this in more out of hope than anything else, but it somehow delivered. Although, this one is more of a ‘sort of’ PB. I ran my fastest ever NT10k back in Easter, in a pretty nifty 51:51 (that’s nifty for me). It also my second fastest 10k ever. So bollocks, I’m claiming it.
• Run a Half Marathon – Achieved not once, but twice. I completed the usual GNR in Sept (I’ve decided to take a fallow year of reviewing it) and then also, for the first time, the Kielder Half (review sitting in drafts, gathering dust, to be birthed sometime in 2024). The Kielder Half was both the hardest and most rewarding course I’ve ever run and up there with my greatest running achievements, but more of that in the review to follow.
• Run longer than 13.1 miles – Yeah. No. Next year, honest.
• Run a Race in a Club Vest – I churned out two runs in a club vest and, say it quietly, it may contain some sort of magical powers. I PBd the NT10k in its first outing (more on that here) and then put in a belter of a run in it at the Kielder Half. I might need to crack it out more often in 2024, although this does increase my club wanker status.
• Run on Holiday – As mentioned in my mid year review, I was that sad bastard who took his running gear on a family holiday to Menorca and went for early morning runs. I’m not sure whether to brag or blush about that.

In the main then, pretty positive. Lots of miles, good races, some excellent club sessions, and all done injury free (jinx). I’ve also managed to go for runs in Glasgow and on the London Embankment whilst traveling with work. Again, the club wanker in me is starting to go next level.

With that, it’s time to bask in the glory of 2023 and look forward to 2024. I’ll once again set some goals, but I’ll wait until I’m not off my tits on a combination of COVID, Lemsip and Black Sheep. Just in case I decide in a drugged up haze to set a target of 2,000 miles and sign up for an Ultrarun.

Enjoy your Christmas, however you celebrate or spend it. I’m sure I will, once my sense of taste returns..