“I don’t know”, I said as I put the finishing touches to the cover photo that isn’t displaying on the screen like I want it to…”we’ll soon find out”.

So here we are. Just under nine months until I hope to make my marathon debut (I’ve covered the distance before, not in a race, but that’s one for another time). A marathon that I signed up for just over two years ago as I was coming to the end of three month work secondment in a city that I fell in love with the minute I saw the skyline appear on the first drive in from O’Hare.

But you don’t need me to tell you that a lot has happened since the end of 2019. I’m not sure this blog is the place to look back on the last few years, you’ll all have your own lived experiences of the pandemic that will be more real to you than anything I write here. Suffice to say, I hope everything has been alright and I hope you’re doing ok.

What didn’t happen was the 2020 Chicago Marathon and I was given the option to defer to either 2021, 2022 or 2023. With all the uncertainty and restrictions on travel to the US from the UK, I decided against last year’s race and signed up for October.

Now what I’m about to say next is so insignificant and unimportant in the grand scheme of things but I think it’s worth being honest with you (and myself) as I kick this thing off.

I am not the runner I was in 2019.

Whilst some stayed focused, trained well, clocked up new PBs and got fitter, faster and stronger…I didn’t. I kind of went backwards, got a few bad injuries, fell out of love with it and I haven’t felt like a runner for big chunks of these last few years.

I’ve spent way too much of that time thinking I’m not as quick/fit/trim as I used to be and it’s wasted energy that changes nothing. If anything, it makes you feel even worse. And looking back isn’t going to get me ready for what’s coming up, so I’ll try not to (disclaimer: there might be a few nostalgia posts if I start struggling for regular content).

I’ve started this blog in the hope that it helps me stay focused and keeps me honest in the months ahead. I’m working through all my different plans; the training schedule, the fundraising and the more immediate priorities to improve my strength and conditioning and get a good base level of fitness.

The last blog I wrote was in 2007 when me and a group of pals did the Monster Bike and Hike for Maggie’s – 30 miles cycle, 43 mile hike from Fort William to Inverness in less than 24 hours (20hrs 48mins to be exact). The blog was a nice way to chronicle an amazing experience and we figured that it would also give the people that sponsored us some proof that we were in serious training and worth backing. If this does a bit of the same I’ll be happy, but I also just fancy doing a wee bit of writing that isn’t work related. If you pop in once or twice and then head off into cyberspace or you stick me with me for the duration, every bit of support is appreciated. If you’re not able to donate, that’s absolutely fine – I will not be giving you all the hard sell on here, I promise. If you’d like to drop me a wee comment under any of the posts, or give the blog a bit of promo on social or even recommend it to a friend (they might be having trouble getting to sleep and in need of a remedy) that would be magic.

I can’t be the runner I was in 2019…so I’ll build the 2022 version.

“Let’s go to work”…