My facebook post summed it up nicely, but the blog offers me a little more of an opportunity to express my gratitude to those that have supported me over the past 12 months.

Let me be honest. When I referred to my cash flow troubles, it was more a case of expenditure had exceeded income for too long and that’s an uncomfortable position to be in. But I’ve always been shrewd with my money and worked hard on my own business for over a decade. There was no immediate panic about how I was going to afford my next tub of Ramona’s heavenly jalapeno houmous.

In summary I moved out of my own house into shared accommodation. Thank you to Simon & Louise for their amazing hospitality (and not forgetting Sashy of course). I started looking for a real job. It didn’t take long. The first job I applied for was in my industry and the head of recruitment turned out to be an old school friend. What are the odds?

After an “informal chat” I was offered the role straight away. I accepted. I lasted 3 days. I should add I was bloody good in those 3 days though. The ethos of the company didn’t match my own and it just wasn’t an establishment I could work for.

It gave me the motivation to work harder on my coaching and really give PB Runner a go. 8 months later and I’m delighted with the current state of affairs. Thank you to all the runners on the team that have supported my journey and continue to make this an incredibly exciting venture. Long may it continue.

The plan ahead for the team and my coaching is to keep learning and offer better training plans, better sessions and really get the best out of each individual who commits to working with me. I still have a lot to learn, but that just makes it more exciting.

A year is a long time and having worked with around 50 runners there are too many achievements to mention. Plus I have this habit of accidentally missing out one or two names and this isn’t a time to be singling out individuals.

Enjoying the training is always my main focus when creating the sessions, so if a runner experiences that high on a week to week basis, then I’m really not too fussed if they achieve the end goal. Don’t get me wrong, it’s brilliant when they do, but it’s not a case of success or failure. Running is our hobby. Use the goal as motivation to keep pushing, but don’t let it dominate your thinking.

From my own running perspective it’s been an interesting year. Throughout the covid years it was all about volume for me, regularly bashing out 50 miles a week without any problems. But that became an issue in the winter months and my main goal of running Brighton Marathon was put on the back burner due to a troublesome hip.

I came to the conclusion I was going to have to train smarter. I applied some of my new coaching skills to my own training and managed a half marathon PB at Paddock Wood in March.

I then set my most ambitious goal yet. A sub 40 minute 10k. 2 minutes off my previous best. I was now running just 50k a week, not 80k. So I had to find new ways to improve, whilst running fewer miles than before.

The goal really motivated me and pushed me to my limits. Whilst I came up quite a way short, I still smashed my previous best 10K by over a minute, running 40:56 at the Barry Richards in August.

It’s an important race to me. One I’ve run numerous times since becoming a member of Hastings Runners in 2016. I’ve achieved a PB on 3 separate occasions. I also once ran it in a time of 64 minutes (I was trying my hardest). There was also a year when I simply couldn’t get myself out the front door as my mental health was poor.

So just to complete that race is always something I’m grateful for, but to cross the line in a new personal best made it even sweeter.

The other highlight for me was the Alan Corke. A race I once finished 67th out of 68 runners (I was some way ahead of the last runner I should add). My time the previous year was slightly down on my best due to a few weeks out from sinusitis, but I had recorded a new marathon PB just a month earlier, so I was still in good shape.

The main difference this year was a well executed race strategy. I mapped out the route and knew exactly where each kilometre finished and how fast I wanted to run each split. That’s not easy on a hilly route like the Firehills but it worked to perfection. I pushed hard from the start to make the most of the downhill segments and was able to maintain a consistent effort level up the hills.

I exceeded my expectations and there was a point in the race that I was so far ahead of my schedule, that the Improvers Award entered my mind for the first time. I had Patrick just ahead to chase down and was set to catch him in the final 50 metres, had Susan not alerted him to my presence (I even put my finger to my lips to ensure no-one said anything). Patrick looked over his shoulder and sprinted to the line. Next time.

The winter has been a fairly consistent one for me and I believe I’m still running very close to my best. I’m inspired by the achievements of the team and my goals this year are to run a new 5k PB and a new marathon personal best. Perhaps even an ultra, just don’t tell Jax (wait a minute, she’s just proof read the post).

Last week Allan, Matt, Joe Cruttenden and Sue Mann all completed their training plans and have all committed to a new one. A quick mention for Fleur who ran a 10 mile PB at Staplehurst to conclude a brilliant year of running and claim an age category award in the process.

Thank you to everyone for your support over the past 12 months, especially Jax. Let’s make 2024 an even better year.