I’m not entirely sure how it’s the end of December already, but it is and so it seems a good time to reflect on the past year as I plan for the year ahead. It’s certainly been a strange year for me in terms of running, lots of meh but also plenty of spectacular highlights.

I didn’t officially write down any goals for the year, but in practice they were:

• Beat my long-standing parkrun PB
• Get a friend to run their first parkrun
• Visit 12 new-to-us parkrun events
• Do the Somerset Series
• Make running a habit (again)

Beat my long-standing parkrun PB

Straight in with one of the undeniable highlights of my year. Right back in January I went to Burnham and Highbridge parkrun and somehow achieved what I thought I was still months off. The write up of that morning was also one of my favourite blog posts of the year.

Get a friend to run their first parkrun

Or even better, get more than one friend to run their first parkrun. I took some of my colleagues through Couch to 5k at the start of the year, at the end of which I was able to introduce them to Longrun Meadow parkrun. And they’re still speaking to me as well!

Visit 12 new-to-us parkrun events

We made it to 13, so definite tick here. More would have been nice, particularly with the momentum we had at the start of the year, but tourism is always a compromise in this house.

Do the Somerset Series

This is where it goes downhill a bit. I tried to make this work, and worked with Ben to get a schedule that fit both of us. I pushed myself to do some races I normally wouldn’t consider, and even got a very painful 5k PB at Yeovilton. But skipping out on a few options early on left me needing to do the Mells Scenic 7 and Brent Knoll to get enough in, and I wasn’t well enough to run Mells. I would say there’s always next year, but I think this is a goal I’ll park for a little while.

Make running a habit (again)

Ohhhh wow. I failed so badly here. My monthly mileage chart looks bad enough, with its gradual climb through the year, but when you see the scale it’s flipping awful. As Ben has pointed out, in each of 3 months I ran less miles than he would consider the minimum for a satisfactory week. Total mileage for the year 337, and that includes a lot of running to assist other people.

Anyway, goal analysis out the way, here’s the other highlights from a year that had a surprising amount of good packed into its low mileage.

New 10k PB

I put a lot of pressure on myself to be ready for the Glastonbury 10k, and was a massive bag of nerves that morning. Everything clicked together at the right time, and the race that saw my first sub-60 back in 2015 got my new PB in 2019.

Sub-30 buggy parkrun

This was a huge milestone for me, as before this year I didn’t consider myself much of a ‘proper’ buggy runner. And my very first sub-30 was at the stunning Eden Project, which had the added boost of knowing I’d managed the hills well.

CiRF

Or Coach in Running Fitness for the uninitiated, which is what I have officially been since the start of June. Not going to lie, I found it tough going and decided I was going to drop out multiple times, but I’m glad I stuck with it as it’s really helped with…

Beginners Groups

Back in March I volunteered to take over running the beginners groups at my club (Running Forever Running Club). The two groups I’ve run so far have been a big confidence boost in a year where self-belief has been in short supply. And I love chatting to group graduates at club night or parkrun and hearing how their running is going.

Tamar Trails parkrun

I ran 36 parkruns this year, and every single one was an achievement or learning experience of some kind. But I need to single out Tamar Trails on my personal achievements for the year, because it’s something that 12 months ago I wouldn’t have thought I could do, and I did it at a crazy time. After a month when I’d missed parkrun every week, and really getting inside my head, I ran a tough trail course, with a buggy, in a storm. And when I finished that run I really felt like I could achieve anything.

Mini running buddy

I hate to end with a cliche, but some of my truly proudest runs this year have been running with Lani. There was her 10th parkrun at Severn Bridge, the “I don’t want to run” turned PB at Torbay Velopark, and the pure joy of running at her 50th junior parkrun. And set apart from the milestones, the girl who used to run at Heavitree every week in winter to avoid puddles became the girl who ran straight through near knee-deep puddles on Christmas Day.

So, no pressure 2020, but your highlights reel has a lot to live up to.