As I write this it is 30th December - Hogmanay eve - and if ever there was an appropriate time to look back at the year this is probably it. In running terms it was a fairly decent year for me, spoiled by an injury which greatly reduced my running in the last quarter of the year. The fact that the injury is still raw in my mind leaves me with a sense that the year as a whole was a bit of a disaster but on reflection this is unfair and does not reflect the positives that happened prior to October.
First of all, the stats. With a day and a half of the year still to go, I've run 1,616 miles and covered more than 7,000,000 steps. This is the first year I've kept a note on my steps - last year's Christmas present, a Garmin 235, does it for me automatically - and it works out at an average of more than 19,000 a day. I try and walk to and from work most days, which is about a 5 mile round trip and adds around 10,000 steps a day. The walking complements my running well, I think, and helps provide a decent base.
I have completed 21 races. This was made up of 3 ultramarathons (South Downs Way 50, Cateran 55 and Cumbria Way 30), a very enjoyable trail marathon (Mhor), two half marathons (Scottish and Great Scottish, somewhat confusingly), one 10k (a return to my old school town of Paisley), eight 5ks (mostly parkruns) and 6 other races. The other races included a very enjoyable Edinburgh race called Scurry to the Sea, where we ran to the top of one of the peaks in the Pentlands and then down to the finish at Musselburgh beach, trashing my quads for a full week afterwards. It also included the first National Cross Country championships where I was lapped, with Adam Craig being the first athlete to take that honour. I doubt he will be the last, although next year I plan to prepare better, and not spend the week before partying on a cruise. The award for my own 'performance of the year' goes to my 3 hours 49 minutes Mhor Marathon, with my two 1.37 half marathons are also being worth a mention, even though the combination of these halfs and a 30 mile ultra in successive weeks broke me. The expression 'do what I say and not as I do' is one of which I intend to take note in 2020. Another is 'don't be a silly fool and race three weeks in a row, as your ageing body can't cope with it any more'.
On the subject of giving advice, I have coached a number of senior endurance athletes over the year and it has been great to see them achieve PBs and other excellent results. I coach at the Harmeny AC sessions each Tuesday night at the Meadows which is a lot of fun, with a great camaraderie amongst the group.
I continue to be pleased at the progress being made by Scottish Athletics. It was another good year on all counts: our top athletes continue to perform well - three Scottish athletes making the final of the world championship 1,500m in Doha was a huge achievement, as were the performances of Callum Hawkins in the marathon and Laura Muir (coming back from injury) in the 1,500m, along with many others. Callum taking the lead in the World Championship marathon was one of my favourite moments of the year; for about a minute I really believed we were going to have a Scottish world champion. Our para athletes brought medals back from Dubai. Our club scene continues to prosper, and some of the big club events like the national cross country championships were superb examples of what athletics in Scotland is all about. It is nice to be part of a sport where everyone involved - athletes, coaches, officials, other club volunteers, board, staff - are all working so well together to help move athletics forward. I've said it in various interviews and I'll say it again: a huge thank you to everyone involved for all the hard work put in, and for the way everyone is working together for the benefit of athletics as a whole. Scottish Athletics won the governing body of the year award again in 2019 - the third time we have won it in the last four years - and everyone in the sport should take great pride at this.
Away from running and athletics, 2019 was a year of weddings, big birthdays and holidays. We attended three weddings this year: Stephen and Gillian in the Dominican Republic in May (and their second, home version in Edinburgh in June); Dave and Lee in Killearn in June; and Paddy and Emma in Dunkeld in October. Congratulations to the happy brides, grooms and families; all of the weddings were fantastic, memorable days. It was Sandra's 50th birthday in February (hard to believe, I know), which we celebrated in style with a cruise round the Canaries, Madiera and North Africa, accompanied by Stephen and Gillian, Colin, Jemima, Liz and Carol. Last week it was my Dad's 80th birthday, which we celebrated by going to Killin for a lovely weekend just before Christmas. On top of the holidays already mentioned, Sandra and I had a week of relaxation in Ibiza, just after the West Highland Way Race in June, although somewhat unfortunately I had hurt my shoulder and found it difficult to relax. We then headed out to Chamonix in August and had a lovely week watching the UTMB races, walking and running on the stunning mountain trails, and catching up with a number of our running friends.
On the political front, 2019 will be remembered as the year UK politics reached a new low. Telling the truth became an unusual and slightly quaint course of action for any politician or political party, as the politics of spin and lies took over. Respect for other points of view disappeared. Brexit hardened opinions on both sides with a lot of unacceptable behaviour being seen both inside and outside the Houses of Parliament. Westminster politics remained in stalemate for most of the year, until a crushing Conservative victory in December's general election means we are heading for an early 2020 exit from the EU. Goodness knows what else is ahead, but it is fair to say that I, and many others, are not optimistic about the state of the UK. All of this turmoil does of course present a great opportunity for Scotland, and the Scottish people, to recognise that we don't have to be part of this, and can do things better ourselves. 2020 certainly promises to be an interesting year in that regard.
2019 not only marks the end of the year, but the end of the decade. It has been an interesting one. Sandra and I have just spent our 10th Christmas together which seems hard to believe; the time has passed in the blink of an eye. Maybe that's another indication that we're getting old.
As I sign off, may I take this opportunity to wish all my readers the very best for a successful and happy 2020. I hope it is a good one for us all.
