That’s the question people have been asking me since the Three Peaks Challenge… and the answers to it really excite me!

The Three Peaks Challenge certainly boosted my desire to go on adventures and take on challenges which push me physically and mentally.

It was during the Three Peaks Challenge that Ash was chatting to one of his friends about my running and said “she’ll do one of these ultramarathons one day.”

I didn’t hear him at the time but heard about it later and it really fuelled my fire to get out there and do it!

I’ve dreamt of doing an ultra ever since I heard about them, but I thought they would be way off in the distance future, not yet reachable, something for proper runners.

Oh hang on a minute… I’ve been running for 22 months… I’ve built up a good base fitness… I think I am a runner!

So that’s my main goal for 2020…

Run an ultramarathon

And therefore comes hand in hand with my B goal if you will, which is to run a marathon.

What I haven’t picked yet are the races and nor have I worked out timings. I do however have a marathon training plan which I’ve made myself after reading lots of different plans, chatting to various people in the running community and factoring in my time and what works for me.

So as of next week #marathontraining begins!

More Trails

I also want to spend at least 65% of my time running out on the trails! I’ve been saying it for a while but not always following through. The trails are where I’m happiest, they’re where I want to explore and where I want my races to be, so I need to start prioritising myself and ignoring those temping road races that pop up.

Races

That also brings me on to races… I’m not going to enter so many in 2020 unless they are really special, local races and/or are constructive to my plan.

Yes it’s okay to veer off plan from time to time but I found this year that if you’re not careful you can end up doing 10k races every weekend instead of 10+ miles and then not actually fitting in the long run alongside.

Long distance footpaths

Separate to running I also have some hiking challenges that I want to complete with Ash.

The first ultramarathon that really grabbed my attention was the Limestone Way Ultra, which takes you along the whole of the Limestone Way from start to finish. The idea of completing a long distance footpath really appealed to me, and I ended up googling National Trails and long distance footpaths in the UK.

I recently saw someone talking about the Sandstone Way race on facebook and it’s a path that both me and Ash have walked parts of, so in 2020 I’m planning on taking a day and walking it from start to finish.

Wainwrights

We’d also love to tick off some of the Wainwrights, the English peaks mentioned in Alfred Wainwrights walk guides.

Chunks of the Pennine Way

And finally, one of the things lower on my list but still very much there, walking some of the Pennine Way. Described as the backbone of England, the Pennine Way runs from the Peak District up to just over the Scottish Border. If possible I’d love to get a few chunks of it ticked off, and eventually in my lifetime have walked all of it.

2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year! Of course things can change and it’s important to be flexible, but I also love to have goals.