TLDR: 2018 ended up being a year I wont forget...From representing the UK (in a Hawaiian shirt) to completing my first Parkrun, I achieved more then I could imagine. See below for full details.
The year began as all runners would dread - an injury carrying over from the previous year (not really a surprise to me). As they say, as a runner you're either injured, about to get injured or recovering from an injury - the joys of running. I had two main goals for this year, beat my previous Olympus Marathon time and complete an ultra. My first race of the year (end of March) was preparation for this, the Dolomiti Beer Trail (42km, 2200m ascent). As a Brit, just the name was enough to get me to sign up. Starting and ending at Pedavena brewery, and going through the National Park of the Belluno Dolomites, it was great race with a bit of everything (middle picture in the collage). Having not had a great training block for the elevation profile of this race, my legs were in bits the next day. But, I can report back that the beer was great in aiding the recovery process...
Next up was to be my first ultra race - Ultra Trail Vipava Valley (52km, 2400m ascent). And again, there is a theme with the race I had chosen...this one was taking place in Vipava, a famous wine valley in Slovenia. This was a beautiful race, going through forests and mountains with vineyards either side of you in glorious sunshine. This is one race I will definitely like to revisit (okay, maybe for the wine as well). Being my first ultra, I was a little worried about starting off too fast (especially with the roman soldiers & their drums at the start which got everyone even more psyched), but fortunately managed to contain my excitement and have a fairly well managed race. On a side note, Slovenia has been one of my favorite countries to visit so far - the mountains, lakes, food, wine and people are all magnificent. Slovenian wine tasting in a 16th century wine cellar after the race is a personal highlight of the year. First ultra done, now to the Greek Gods at the Olympus Marathon (44km, 3200m elevation gain), at the end of June).
It was only last year (2017) that I boldly entered Olympus Marathon, having no idea what Skyrunning was or entailed. I remember being on the bus to Litochoro, with Olympus staring over the region, thinking "I'm going to have to run up and down you, what am I thinking..." Well, long story short, I completed it and fell in love with sky/mountain running. Now it was time to beat my time from last year - had my training paid off? Thankfully, yes! Even with badly spraining my ankle (grade 2 medial sprain) with around 14km to go, I beat my time by 20 minutes, and came 2nd in my age group (okay, there was only 5 of us under 25!). Olympus Marathon is easily one of the best scenic races I've completed, plus tied in with Greek mythology makes it extra special. Anyone wanting to give Skyrunning a go, I highly recommend this one, but just watch out for the last 10k which can really take it out of you. So my two goals for 2018 were complete by the end of June - what next?
Well, recovery from this injury first and foremost. But something completely unexpected happened. I had (rather hopefully considering my limited running background) emailed Ian Corless (Manager for the UK) back in March to see if I could represent the UK in the Youth Skyrunning World Championships in August, taking place in Italy, but didn't hear much back. Two days after completing Olympus Marathon, I woke up to an email from Ian, confirming my place in the team. I had forgot about my ankle and went to jump up and down with joy, which was a big mistake. I now only had 8 weeks to recover from this injury and be somewhat, race ready... It was going to be one hell of a task. By the time I was boarding the plane to Italy, I was quietly concerned (I had told everyone it was fine), but only having ran on it a couple of times before the Championships, it didn't quite feel fine - I must've upset the Gods at Olympus... Our UK team consisted of four of us, myself, Sammie Kwong, Joseph Reardon and Lloyd Donovan. There were two races - a Vertical Kilometer (3.5km, 1000m ascent), which was everyone but Lloyd's first time doing one (Joseph thought this was how fast you could 1km, little did he know...), and a classic Skyrace (22km - 2300m acsent). The VK was one of the hardest races I've done, and fortunately my ankle held up. I had sworn to myself to never do one again, but looking back at it now, I would love to give it another crack. Lloyd did brilliant, getting a Bronze and putting the UK in the medals table! Two days later it was the Skyrace, which took you along the VK route to start with - so yes I've essentially done two VKs now! This was by far the most technical race I've completed, with via ferrata along the route. Not being one who get's on with heights too well, I rather nervously got through that hurdle. The race itself takes you through Gran Sasso, probably a less well known mountain range in Italy, yet just as breathtaking as any (or maybe this was the running having this effect). Towards the end of the race I managed to roll over on my bad ankle which stopped me in my tracks, as well as causing some profanity to be released from my mouth. I thought I had completely ruined my ankle. But somehow after hobbling for a bit, it started to ease and I managed to run it in to the end. Having not done any real running, let alone mountain running in the last two months, my legs were like jelly. In total there were 19 countries involved, and 135 athletes all in the three different age categories. I think I speak for the UK team that this was truly an unforgettable experience, and personally, something which I never expected to happen.
After that, I felt like 2018 was complete, anything else I achieved would be a bonus. I had already decided after the Championships that for next year, my goal would be to get a Spartathlon qualifier time (100km under 10 hours is the one I've opted for). But this has drastically changed, as you can tell from this website. Before all this, I decided to finally give my local Parkrun (Nonsuch) a go with my mum. Having not raced a 5km in a few years, I foolishly forgot the different type of pain you experience on shorter races. One that you cant help but want to go back to. It can be an abusive relationship with running. I still find it great so many of us pay to put our bodies through hell. It was a great experience, and the positive vibes from everyone was contagious. I liked it so much I decided to be a Parkrun tourist in Krakow, and get a new PB. It is amazing what the Parkrun has developed into, and anyone thinking of doing it, stop thinking and start doing, you wont regret it.
I then had the Hurtwood 50k (2200m ascent) at the start of December to contend with. This was to be my second ultra and one finally taking place in the UK after all my travel races, plus local to home. The route takes you through the Surrey Hills and along the Greensand Way. Even living so close to it, I had never been on most of these trails which was refreshing. This was a great race, even if I did push too hard at the beginning, which I paid for later on and ended the race feeling deliriously drunk. It was also great to hear it was a lot of people's first ultra, and the positivity of everyone kept me going.
I have one more race for 2018 - the Frozen Phoenix on the 30th December, a 5km out and back 6 hour race. I should hopefully run my furthest ever! NYE could be interesting.
I tried to keep this relatively short... so if you got this far through, thank you and happy new year!