In 2020, I made a few lifestyle changes; I went teetotal and distanced myself from friends in an attempt to learn who I actually was and what I actually enjoyed (not what the people I mimicked around me enjoyed). I also started cycling & running; this allowed me to inflict external pain to evade other afflictions I was dealing with.
In 2023 I decided to take running seriously; prior to this I would just run the odd half marathon and be left injured. This time I bought a pair of running shoes and went to the Park Run each week. By February I built up to the half marathon level and by April I completed my first marathon. This compulsion snowballed into ultra marathons and other challenges (multi day marathons, 4X4X48 and many others). 2023 ended with 79 half marathons, 15 Marathons and 4 Ultras; overwhelmed with what I had achieved and for once, proud.
Early morning New Years Day 2024, Kwabz called me and asked me to come down to a new run club he had created called 6+1. I came down and the energy was great; a perfect start to the new year. Once the 5K with the run club finished I decided to extend this positive start to the year and ran a half marathon. The following day, another half marathon. This pattern lasted for a week. Realising how great my body felt, i flippantly decided I was going to run a half marathon everyday for a month. Then shortly after this became'365 half marathons in 365 days.
The quantity of running whilst working full time had an impact on my spare time and ability to schedule any other plans that didn't involve running! Low energy levels became the new norm and I weirdly enjoyed this - knowing my body was exhausted from the constant demand, showing a clear indicator to myself how hard I am working.
Despite my obsession with running, the odd low ambition day would come and I invited those days with a marathon instead, or potentially an ultra as that mindset wouldn't work with this challenge.
The biggest obstacle this year was managing my running ambitions. Although I enjoyed running my regular half marathon, my main interest is Ultra marathon running. And so, I had plenty of events planned - specifically the Millstone 160K ultra marathon in August. This left very little time for recovery or opportunity to reflect on my achievements as I was back to the half marathons the following day.
December 2024 came and the unremitting challenge had an end in sight. With only 31 days left and 10 half marathons to run (ahead of schedule) I took my foot of the gas and enjoyed the month giving me time to reflect and appreciate the accomplishment- something I never had the opportunity to do throughout the year.
The year ended with 369 half marathons and an abundance of friends I met throughout the year and along the way of this journey. Thank you to everyone along the way of this journey for supporting and helping throughout.From there, my passion for running snowballed. By August, I had delved into ultra-marathon challenges and took on various self-imposed feats like running 7 half marathons in 7 days and the 4x4x48 Goggins challenge. By the end of 2023, I had completed 79 half marathons, 15 full marathons, and 4 ultra-marathons—a testament to how far I’d come.
(Written by Pascal Osman)
