2025 was the third straight year of consistent running. That might sound strange considering it might seem that I have been habitually running since coming back to New Zealand, but pre-Covid I had numerous injuries that derailed any momentum I had. I had been improving but it tended to get "kneecapped" (once my a knee niggle in fact) by issues. My first was a calf tear at the end of 2016, then there was a knee issue at the end of 2017; 2018 ended with a fall at Omaha Half Marathon which bruise a muscle and then hernia surgery; my best year pre-Covid, 2019 ended with a weird hip flexor issue that took me out for 5 months, and all of that nice Covid lockdown period. I was very superstitious about the end of the year as all of the above happened in Novembers and Decembers.
2020 was a write-off running year with only 1,200km (the smallest year since 2016) - I just never got going. And then when I did at the start of 2021 I promptly sprained my ankle in March. That recovered to be a good year with 3,000km, almost matching 2019. Then something happened with the connection between my Achilles and foot arch and that led to a poor 2022 with not even 1,000km.
But late 2022 and the change of residence to West Auckland started quite the sequence:
- 2023: 3,850km
- 2024: 4,200km
- 2025: 4,500km (as at 24/12)
Improvements in running come from consistency and in March, I celebrated that and the benefits that came from it. For a bit of at it concretely, here are the numbers:
Overall, 2025 has given some seemingly incremental gains overall but each has had an element of breakthrough. The 5km PB hooped under 19 mins, which was something I thought I couldn't do. The 10km time below 40:00, was great for the same reason. I know, with a good lead-in and on a reasonable course, I should be able to do it again. Seeing 1:25 feature in my time for the Waterfront Half PB this year was equally a double-take moment.
The only downer has been that despite a lot of improvement, my full marathon time has only grinded a little lower. Both of my marathons this year were tough affairs that beat me up. But my Auckland Marathon this year I can be proud of despite it not being the PB result I was expecting.
Since recovering from the Auckland Marathon, I have just been maintaining fitness and supporting the new Parkrun at Parrs Park. The Parkrun opened just before the marathon and I got to run in its inaugural event during taper. Since then I have run at five of the events every Saturday and volunteered at several, and have managed to get friends running there, too. It's a very "different" parkrun in that it is on gravel for the most part, undulating, with multiple hairpin turns (six true hairpins but some other really tight corners) and also a grinding ascent that has to be done twice. My best time there remains 20:07 despite three attempts to really "push hard". It puts the whole 18:44 at Ōwairaka into perspective, which is flat, on concrete, with two hairpin turns and it is mostly flat except for a famous bridge.
However, on an easy run to Parrs Park, after a rest day with no reason to have issues, I felt a gradual tightening in my right calf to the point that I had to walk. As I walked it got worse though and I had to bus my way home. As regular readers would know the classic runner dilemma is: Niggle or Injury? Injuries are those issues that basically force you out of running for a long period, whereas a niggle can be something being or feeling "funny". This tightness remained for days, even after feeling it was fine, a small 2km run was enough for it to retighten afterwards. However, a little while later, after another fitness test, it did not happen again, and I backed that up with 100km in 7 days with no issues again.
I have still left a lot of room for changes in 2026, with only entry into a 10km series booked, but possibilities of the Wellington Marathon, Gold Coast Marathon and the Taupō Marathon (and also the Auckland Marathon, if I can relieve someone of an entry). And I'll probably do the Waterfront Half again to see if I can keep that PB going down.
