New year, time to start again

Welcome to 2026. This Sunday I turn 44, coming off the worst year of running I’ve had since I first took up the sport in late 2012. Even in 2019, when I lost six months, I still had a strong first half of the year with a few wins and some fast times. During Covid I was probably at my fittest, and whenever racing was possible I managed to knock out a few sub-18 5K runs.

Last year, though, was rubbish. For a large part of it I had zero motivation and no real goals. The few parkruns I did were well below my usual standards. The two 10K races I entered were run nowhere near full fitness; had I been in the shape I was coming out of Abbey Dash 2025, I would have won both. Instead, I did just enough to podium, and even then I wasn’t particularly bothered. After the second race, it was one issue after another.

First, I tore my groin. Then, just as I was getting back into some consistency and starting to find a bit of speed and mojo again, I fell down some steps and broke my tailbone. That was a major setback and effectively wrote off any racing for the rest of the year. I’d originally targeted a crack at the Abbey Dash in late November, but that was never going to happen. I rushed the comeback and ended up with plantar fasciitis and sciatica back-to-back, which meant by December I was frustrated as hell.

December itself was hectic, with trips to London for a concert at Wembley and then New York for Christmas. To top it all off, I pulled my back two days before London, leaving me incredibly stiff walking around the city. Painkillers and heat patches got me through the concert, and I battled round Wembley with Molly because I didn’t want her running alone. I let my back settle between London and New York and it was pretty much fine until Monday the 22nd, when the long flight and hauling suitcases from the airport and subway to the hotel overloaded it again. It took until Christmas Day to feel right, but I still managed to run 8K every day, as I found it helped ease my back each morning.

Last week I finally started to rebuild some consistency, completing a full week with 10K on five days, my usual rest day on Friday, and a solid 16K on Sunday. My job changes on the 16th as I move stores at Costa to take up a new role on a 30-hour, four-day contract, while also covering my old store until they recruit. That means juggling running while I figure out a routine that works. The upside is that it’s 10K from the new store to home, so on early shifts I can run back. This week I’m aiming to get my runs done early doors before work, rather than heading out tired and risking another injury.

Hopefully by late January I’ll start reintroducing speedwork again (once I invest in some tempo trainers), and with a bit of luck I’ll be back at parkruns and racing come spring.