Date: February 18, 2024

Distance: 4 miles

Listened to: BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show

It has been a while since I wrote a blog here. My relationship with running faltered after the London Marathon in 2024. That was always the ultimate running aim for me, so what on earth could come ever next? I also did not run London the way I wanted to. I was frustrated and sad, and probably did not like running for a while

That said, I tried to motivate myself with half marathon running plans to get back to my 2021 self but stupid menopause had other ideas and I seemed to lack both stamina and speed in equal measure. I also broke my foot. My gorgeous 38kg golden retriever stepped on my left size four and left me very limpy. I tried to run through it but when I could not walk, I guess I knew the truth. Although the first x-ray did not reveal a fracture, physio husband John treated it as one and by the time I had a second x-ray eight weeks later, the fracture was clearly there. There was no running for three months and my half marathon plan was out the window.

It felt like running did not want to be my friend anymore after thyroiditis (see previous blog), the foot fracture and stupid menopause – the words and ‘stupid’ and ‘menopause’ must go together…it’s the law! I did not know if I should give it up. Was my body telling me something? But what else was I going to do? It was a still a largely satisfying activity that got me outdoors and hanging out with friends. There are days when I hate it while I am running but I never, ever regret it afterwards.

After a lacklustre 2025 of no medals or anything to train for, I decided to wipe the slate clean and to try to run 5k every day in January. I had run every day in January in 2024 but some of those runs were pretty lame! The 0.8-miler was not a classic! Aside from trying to get my running game back on track, I also needed to heal a sore heart that comes with waving off your youngest child on a six-month tour of Australia and Asia. I needed to be busy!

I knew I had to start strong so despite the amount of wonderful champagne I consumed on New Year’s Eve, I had already persuaded my friends and John to do Black Park parkrun in Buckinghamshire. Not sure our friend Stephen was quite as enthusiastic as we got our of bed at 8am, but he led the way as we trundled through this beautiful park with our dogs and we got day one ticked off.

To make the challenge extra spiky, I decided to give up alcohol, biscuits, chocolate and cake. Yup, it was going to be a miserable January! But I was determined to not have to buy the cortisol belly fat products that social media kept trying to force upon me, so was hopeful I could lose a little bit of weight along the way John joined me in my dry-January-running quest…so at least we were as boring as each other.

The challenge of 5k every day is trying not to get bored. You find a way to fit the runs in as they are a non-negotiable part of your day but the prospect of running the same route can be slightly tortuous. But there is something weirdly freeing about having to do something every day. The decision has already been made; you just have to make it work and try to make it interesting. Running with friends definitely helped, as did the other parkrun we ticked off in Lichfield. Running anywhere but home was good too. I ran in Exeter while I was at work, sneaked a couple of runs in Lichfield, ran back from John’s physio practice rather than home, all in a bid to make it less boring, I even bought bacon along the way for one run!

The endlessly wet weather was also a challenge. When it wasn’t cold (I ran in -5 one morning), it was raining. It was always raining so several of my runs were on the treadmill, often before twice weekly Body Pump sessions at our local leisure centre. A curveball I did not anticipate was being without hot water for three days when 4,000+ homes in our area lost their gas supply. A sink wash and some dry shampoo can take you so far, but not after a run. I had to head to my mum’s and her shower to remain acceptable in close company!

My washing pile was huge, especially with John doing the same challenge, and we were hungry and tired. I craved chocolate; that little reward to myself at the end of the day. I did not really miss alcohol but fancied a fair few 4pm biscuits. Time also felt tight at times with dog walking and yoga also a daily requirement…and work, of course. I would do the run challenge again but not the abstinence. I did lose 2.5kg in the process but, lordy, I had to work for it!

I ended up with a few Local Legend titles on Strava for my troubles but these are slowly being taken off me by friends in the area. I also got a lot of virtual back-slapping when I posted my last run on social media. I was genuinely taken aback. It does not feel like a huge physical challenge as I have friends who run 10k every day in January. They have done this for the past few years and often run at 5am to get it in before work. Oh, and they poke a marathon in at some point too. It is easy to compare yourself to your nearest and dearest from your home town and forget to give yourself a little more credit.

I am hoping the 5k every day has set me up for a more positive year of running in 2026. I have even got my first medal of the year as I signed up for Race At Your Pace 100-mile challenge and added a few miles here and there to make sure I got that nice shiny gong! I am attempting a half marathon plan to see if I can build on these foundations and put all the nonsense of the previous years behind me.