Race Schedule for 2016

The mayhem of January has now passed and my thoughts have turned rather suddenly to what my event schedule and race goals might be for the year. As we entered 2016 I wasn't feeling very driven towards anything particular. I'd signed up to a handful or events in the latter part of 2015 and really thought little more about it.

But a week or so ago I received an email informing me that I'd been chosen to pace at the Hampton Court Half Marathon on February 21st. A small sense of panic kicked in. I'd run a respectable time in Tromso in January but had really only been ticking over since then, with few miles under my feet in the weeks to date. Now I knew I needed to get out and practice running at pace and satisfy myself that I could comfortably cover the distance as required. It's one thing running for yourself and quite another knowing people will be relying on you!

And so as I added Hampton Court into the diary I realised my race calendar here needed to be updated too. So here are my confirmed events for 2016 so far:

• Hampton Court Half - I'll be taking part in this as a pacer and I'm VERY excited.
• Leith Hill Half - I got free entry to this in return for marshalling two years ago. The first half is uphill and the second half downhill. An interesting challenge that I just want to complete.
• Royal Berkshire 10k - I had to defer my entry to this from last year but am looking forward to running with friends. No time goal here. Yet.
• Swimathon - Get Berkshire Active and This Girl Can are putting together a virtual team of ladies taking part in challenges for Sport Relief this year and I'm in! The 6 mile running distance doesn't feel like much of a challenge so I'll be taking part in swimathon for a second time but going up to the 2.5km distance - eek!
• Polesden Lacy 10k - I'd love to run at a National Trust property and this "challenging" 10k looks to be extremely pretty. Planning to get round and then make a day of it with my parents.
• Cakeathon - Running and cake. Both very dear to my heart. A lapped event over 6 hours with plenty of cake to fuel me. I'd like to achieve ultra distance.
• Stour Valley Marathon - This got a great write up last year and I fancied doing something scenic. I've covered ultra marathon distance off-road and much of Medoc was on track but this will be a step further. Not time goal yet.

In addition to the confirmed events I've seen a others that I am interested in but haven't entered yet as I'm trying to stagger entry fees across the months. These are almost definitely going to happen:

Polesdon Lacy. Photo by National Trust

• Chiltern Classic Sportive (short distance) - A true cycling event has been on my mind for a while. I rarely choose to go cycling so need something to force my hand. This looks to be a distance to challenge me without being scary, fairly local and far enough away in the calendar to allow for truing to happen. Will set me up nicely for the triathlon...
• Thorpe Park Tri - I've enjoyed the triathlons I've done and feel I should step up the distance. A friend has signed up to do this and has persuaded me to do likewise. What a cool location!
• Oxford Half - The one thing I would really love to do this year is get my half marathon time down to a sub-2 hour. It's going to take some work but the right course will help. Oxford was recommended as a flat course. Still waiting for entries to open but keen to do this.

So those are my plans and goals. And, as ever, I'll be updating you on my training and how I get on at each one. 

Are you doing any of these or have you done them in the past? Any advice or tips?