Miles for Mind has always been important to me, so having 4 seasonal challenges this year instead of just the traditional May version has given me even more reason to flex my running muscles. Across the 4 challenges, I clocked up 757km (470 miles) which has been a huge contribution to my target of running 2021km this year (only 16km left to do it at the time of posting). While the physical health benefits of running are obvious, for me, it is the boost to my mental health that is by far the biggest motivator to get me lacing up and heading out in all weathers and just going for however long/far feels right at whatever pace suits the run. 2021 may not have been the easiest of years, but it has definitely had its highs as well as its lows. Let's all celebrate the victories, big, small, and in between that we've achieved this year. If you feel like supporting my efforts by donating to Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) , you can do so by visiting my JustGiving page .
Yesterday was my second Edinburgh 10k, my first being in 2019 (last year's event got cancelled for some reason...). My stravas of both are attached for comparison. Same route, pretty much the same conditions (it chucked it down prior to the start, but was dry and bright albeit decidedly chilly, with a gentle breeze throughout) and the 2km climb from 4.5-6.5km was still horrible. When I did the 2019 event, I'd only been running for 8 months and has only run 10k about a dozen times before. The official chip time of1:03:52 that I set on the day was a personal best at the time. Skip forward to yesterday, and another 250+ runs of 10k or more in the intervening 2 years and I posted an official chip time 54:17, which is currently my second fastest 10k time (the fastest being 53:43 which I ran during my HM at the end of September). Taking my official times, I knocked 9½ minutes off my 2019 time with yesterday's run; despite moving up an age band category in that period. On the who