Running in 2024
I felt more satisfied with racing in 2024, getting to run half my races with loved ones and not feeling unfulfilled by any of them. I want to build back my strength in 2025 after my longest run-free spell due to illness.
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| Best race of the year: Giants 5k. |
A goal for running to be more social
Last year, I said I wanted running in 2024 to be more social. I wasn't going to sign up for any race on my own unless it was an interesting one.
Two of my four races ended up being with others, and as expected, I liked those races better than the other two.
My partner John and I traveled down to Stratford-upon-Avon for a half marathon. I was delighted and surprised to get my second-best half marathon time - probably the power of doing a race with somebody else.
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| Selfie after finishing the Shakespeare Half Marathon. |
The best race this year was the Giants 5k, where I unexpectedly got my best 5k race time. The weather was less than ideal with it raining most of the run, but I loved that it was a family affair with John, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece.
It was also the day of my third anniversary with John, in the stadium where our favorite football team plays, which made it all the more special.
I also attempted a parkrun with a friend at the start of the year, but bad weather meant the run got canceled after making the trek there. It was still a nice excuse to catch up, though.
I wasn't left unfulfilled by my solo races either.
I did the Bluebell Trail 10k, which was a scenic and easy-to-get to race I enjoyed (although it was a bit too warm!).
Bluebell Trail 10k recap
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| A solo but scenic run at Dalkeith Country Park. |
The 'coolest' race was the least satisfying
My other solo race was fulfilling and definitely the coolest...but also the least satisfying. I got the opportunity to run the Marathon Pour Tous 10k, organised by Paris 2024 during the Olympics.
Marathon Pour Tous 10k
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| Picking up my race number on a hot day in Paris. |
I expected it to be one of the greatest races I've ever experienced, but the isolation I felt made it the least satisfying of the year. Not only did I travel and run on my own, I was in a country where I didn't speak the language (well) and didn't feel comfortable enough to chat to other runners when there might have been a language barrier.
Sure, it was cool to run at something part of the Olympics, and it was a unique experience I wanted to take advantage of. But cool doesn't feel so cool when you're on your own.
Plus, it was way too hot, I was running at an unsociable hour in the middle of the night, and I was there for way too short a time to get some proper rest and recovery in. I left feeling like if one of these unique running experiences came up again, I wouldn't do it unless I was doing it with someone.
Illness stopped me running for three and a half weeks
Running in 2024 unfortunately ended on a low note. After a glorious five weeks in the US with my family, I got an infection when I got back to Edinburgh. And then I got another infection on top of it.
I was coughing for so long, my right rib started to hurt. I decided it was best to pause running until it didn't hurt anymore. It was three and a half weeks before I felt okay enough to start running again. That's by far the longest I've gone without running since I started in 2018.
Before this year, I never went more than a week without running, with one exception - last year I took a two-week break before a marathon and half marathon.
So it was difficult for me to settle myself with the idea that I needed to rest. Early on in the illness, I was stubborn about keeping up running and went out when I probably shouldn't have.
It took me until things really got painful to stop, and when I did, I was surprised at how okay I became with not running during that time.
Having been unwell for so long by that point, running became unimportant. Healing was the most important thing.
Building my strength back in 2025
I'm still dealing with some health issues stemming from the illness, but not ones affecting my running. I started running again at the end of November.
I've been taking it easy, though. Some days I don't even run a full 2 miles when 5k was previously the shortest distance I'd run. I used to do a 6 mile run a week, and I haven't done one since early October.
So my goal for 2025 is to build back my running strength. It's not that I'm incapable of running long distances at the moment, but I want to continue the easy stretch and gradually build up to longer runs.
2025 will be the rebirth of LauRunning.
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