My Year in Running

I've seen a few of these posts recently and enjoyed reading them a great deal. So I thought I'd write my own. It's a cool way to reflect on my year.

Best Race Experience
Equinox24. Hands down. Sure, Gatliff was awesome because it was my first ultra but Equinox24 was super special. A team cobbled together from Facebook and twitter met in a field at night in the rain and then proceeded to support each other while we ran day and night. The course was my favourite of any I've run. The race team were incredible. I've never experienced another atmosphere like it. I met Alexa, Sid and Marathon Man. I bumped into TC in our PJs while I was brushing my teeth. I ran 30 miles and clocked up my fasted ever unofficial 5k times. And there was lots of cake.

Best Run
A whole year of running, over 1000 miles and you want me to pick just one? The parkrun at which I got my first official sub 27-minute 5k was pretty special and I've adored every single run I did with Anita (how we managed to run that fast and still gossip remains a mystery) but I think my favourite run was with Bear last weekend. It was a beautiful sunny wintry morning and I got to run the footpath to the forest which I adore doing at the moment. Plus the forest is stunning. We stomped in muddy, icy puddles and got a little bit lost. First run I've ever enjoyed with a guy. Seriously.

My forest. I adore it.

Best New Piece of Gear
I have a top three. Is that allowed?
1) The new Garmin I got for my birthday that can find satellites in under a minute and lasts for 6 hours in the wilderness
2) My leggings from Crewroom. They are my go-to running leggings now it's colder. Stylish, comfy, warm and flattering.
3) My race vest that I used for Gatliff. Oh how I umm'ed and ah'ed over buying it. I even tried to cancel it after I placed the order. In the end it was exactly what I needed and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to use it more often.

Best Piece of Running Advice I Received
Walk the hills. That or keeping my forearms low. Both have made a remarkable difference to my running in very different ways.

Best Inspirational Runner
Oh lord there's a lot of them out there. There are a lot of my twitter running pals who I find incredibly inspirational and who either manage to coerce me into doing races or send me the most wonderful messages of support. Big shout out to all of you. But if I had to choose one person, while not strictly a runner per say, then I think it would have to be Sophie Radcliffe. She is a constant inspiration, for her achievements, outlook and sweet personality.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?
Beyond expectations.

2014 - what a year