New Year, New Goal

So it's been far too long since I wrote in this blog. This is partly due to thinking of ideas for my blog over at Ransacker taking up the running/musing time I used to reserve for my waffling on here, but also because after finishing the London Marathon in the spring I spent the rest of the year with no fixed training plan and trying a whole range of different activities, from lifeguarding to cycling and intensive gym-ing.

But I have still been run-exploring, and my travels over the past year mean I can now add a whole slew of new locations to the list of places I have trodden in my faithful trainers. The most exciting of those would have to be along Venice Beach to Santa Monica in Los Angeles, a run which re-formed my opinion of the city, as the pleasant footpaths, clean sands, and smiles from fellow joggers cast a different light on the neighbourhood we'd arrived in late the night before and found full of intimidating cars, shadowy men and seedy alleyways reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. My run brought out for me just one of the many faces of the City of Angels, but it was one which I was more able to relate to and made my time there much more enjoyable as a result. An excellent example of how running-exploring allows you to get beneath the skin of a destination and discover more.

My experience at London taught me that the environment in which I'm running is the main factor in my enjoyment, and the feeling of exploring a different or wonderful place is more important to me than the crowds or the kudos of the event. So this year I have signed up for the Brathay Windermere marathon, in the Lake District, billed as one of the toughest and most scenic races in the country. I am really looking forward to getting started on a new training plan and having an excuse to seek out even more interesting places to run.

Happy new year!