When 2018 began I had decided upon a few challenges:
1. 100 runs of a 10km distance or greater in a year. These all had to be individual runs and larger runs cannot be split
2. To end the year on 1000 miles
3. Complete Manchester and London marathon [2 weeks apart]
4. Complete an Ultra
It never even crossed my mind at this point that I would also undertake an epic challenge.
My focus was on my first ever ultra, the Waterway 30. I still remember the nerves on the start line and the feeling when I finished. 30 miles along canal and water however I think took its toll for the rest of the year and perhaps is where my dislike of now running round water steams from. January also saw my attendance at the first National Running show, and I attended as an ambassador for the show.
Fundraising also stepped up in 2018 as I raised funds for Meningitis research Foundation. Whilst the fundraising was for my London marathon place, my ultimate aim was to raise £2000 for running 2 marathons in 2 weeks. April was the month of marathons and I completed both marathons in two weeks. Completing London was a dream come true and whilst the course had not lived up to expectations it did mean I collected my first major star. This then sparked the big challenge for the year, 12 marathons or ultras in 12 months.
In addition to the marathons and ultras I now had planned I had a few other races to run.
There were some real highs, the South Huddersfield Trail and Road series is a favourite of mine and I have run it two years in a row, running in Chicago with my daughter was really unforgettable, been asked to take part in the Yorkshire Marathon relay team was a real honour and of course I feel lucky to have run again with Disney on Castaway Cay. A real low for me was saying goodbye to the Ramathon.
I picked up the weirdest running related injury in June at Endure 24. My son stuck his finger in my eye and caused a cut straight across my pupil. It meant I could not see and ran 5 miles nearly blind. I was in a lot of pain and worried my eye sight might not return but thankfully all is well. Endure 24 was also my first 24 hour race and I loved been a part of the team with these amazing ladies. Thank you for asking me to join you.
The second half of the year was really tough. It was here I needed to start running more marathons. At one point I ran 2 marathons in a week. In November and December I ran a marathon every other week. The challenge saw me also collect 2 additional major marathon stars and run in Berlin and America. Each marathon and ultra has some amazing memories and I cannot wait to run more in 2019.
2018 hasn't been the year of personal bests, in fact I didn't get any. It was however the year of some epic challenges. I completed all the challenges I had set at the beginning of the year, including running 9 marathons and 3 ultras.
I ended the year completing 250km in December for the Run up to Christmas challenge. My total miles were over 1,000 meaning I also completed the final challenge of the year. The last run in 2018 was a navigational course and I am looking forward to taking these skills forward into 2019.
I have not set any challenges yet for 2019. I do however have a goal of trying to break the 5 hour barrier on a marathon.
