Since getting my place in May 2017 for in The Big One on 22 April 2018, I’ve deliberately run a lot more races than previously, with more in the pipeline. Those planned still to do:
In March, my first overseas race, the Cyprus Half Marathon in Paphos. In places it’s not the most thrilling of routes, truth be told, but a great start and finish, and having spent so much time in Cyprus it will be fun to run a race there as part of the London Marathon build-up, 7 weeks out.
Other possibilities: the Stowmarket half-marathon in March is very local and a possibility, 5 weeks from London. The Tarpley 10 or 20 in February is also very local. However, none of these quite fit the distances my training plan is calling for, so I’ll reserve judgement for now.
I’ve entered the London 10-mile in Richmond Park again in May 2018, having run the first one in 2017 and not done quite as well as I’d hoped. It’s only three weeks after the London Marathon, so I’m not sure whether that means I’ll be in peak form, or still gently recovering, or with a body just too focused on the endurance of the marathon distance rather than a bit more speed for 10 miles. We’ll see.
And after that – no definite plans. Perhaps the Perkins Great Eastern Half again in October. Definitely a 10k or two somewhere as that distance has been neglected with the marathon and half-marathon focus, and I think I now have more strength to succeed at 10k. And of course some more parkrun tourism, which has also suffered slightly.
