Coming up next…

With the trials of the Hillary long since passed it was time to plan the next round of challenges and  goals. Which races to enter? What distance to do? and how the hell am I going to come up with a plan of attack be to do all these races?

Right away there is a group of races that I know that I’m 100 percent going to enter. In this group is the Auckland Xterra Series; I enjoyed the series last year and as my first foray into trail running it will likely always hold a special place. and looking forward to having another crack at the seven races with Team Icebug. The only question for me was which distance to enter. Should I do the short course again now that I have bench marked times for each course, a goal to beat, or should I step up and have a crack at the mid length races? After much debate I’ve decided to man up and push myself for the mid length as it fits my master plan.

The Hillary is going to be my blue ribbon event without a doubt. The enormity of the trail and the style of the event really appeals to me. This is the one that I’m going to spend the year building towards as the culmination of my master plan, my Everest as it were. Once again my aim is to step up the distance and aim for the 34km race next year. It is going to be a crazy year trying to hit the longer distance, but what is life without some challenges.

Before the Series kicks off at the end of May I’ve got a couple of new races for me, the Xterra Rotorua and the new Waitomo Trail Run. For Rotorua we’ve ditched the kids and making it a long weekend away with my wife even entering in her first 5.5km race, which should be interesting. And hands up who thinks that starting a race underground is an awesome idea? Of course is could be a complete cluster f**k as pile of runners try to squeeze their way out of the caves but running through middle earth should more than make up for any inconvenience at the start.

In July I have signed up for the Tough Guy and Girl race with my Mother and two brothers as Team Mother Tuckers. I haven’t done an obstacle course race before so this will be a new experience.

With so many kilometres lined up to travel over the next year, I needed a plan to make sure that I’ll be able to hit my rather lofty goals. As luck would have it the son of one of mums friends and my brother former classmate, was returning home after been kicked out of the UK for training too many bankers to run. So now Mr Chris Mckeown now has the unenviable task of getting rid of my infamous duck-like running style. Plus with his nutritionist fiancée on board, my weight loss goals should also be within reach.

So basically that’s my plan for the next year in terms of  races and how I intend to be ready for them.