2008 in review

I thought I'd list some of my most memorable running achievements of last year, now that the year has closed, so that they can be listed for posterity :

The 3 most memorable races :

10km - Paris XIV (January 2008): This was the first 10km race in which I managed to go sub 40 and was the spur to get me to start training more seriously. It all started thanks to a bet with my brother - thanks Al !!

Marathon - Paris (April 2008): My first ever marathon and I didn't know what to expect. I ran comfortably just about the whole distance, but the atmosphere, the crowds, the excitement of it all made it a fantastic memory. A marathon is something special and is the reference for all non-runners.

10 km - Conflans St Honorine (September 2008): My best 10km race of the year and just the race where everything seemed to go right. I wasn't too tired, the weather was good and the course is fast and flat. I loved it. The first signs that I was capable of further improvement with suitable training.

Records achieved:

10 km - 37:28 at Conflans in September (see above)

15 km - 1:03:33 at Le Puy in May. This record will fall this year if I can find a 15km race to run!

Marathon - 3:07:15 at La Queue Lez Yvelines in October. An achievement, yet a big disappointment at the same time. This record has to be beaten in 2009 by a sub 3 hour run.

Other achievements :

Improving my 10km PB by 5 minutes 47 seconds over the year. This is unrepeatable!

Seeing Laurence improve her running too and beginning to believe in herself. 10km race at Houilles last week was brilliant in this respect. First marathon for her this year will be another memorable experience.

Taking pleasure from other running friends achieving their objectives too: Nick in running all those races with me over the year and improving with each one; Paul in beating 40 minutes for 10km and 1:30 for a half marathon; and Andy taking up running seriously again and entering his first running race in several years.

Thanks to all of you for the fun we've had together. Looking forward to another great year, this year and to another load of race memories. Vive la course à pied !