At the start of the year we have a lot of vim and vigor relating to what we want to do in the year. We have big aspirations and this is great. And so we spend time figuring out our goals. Some of the goals are variants on a theme; they extend what we did last year with time or volume. Others are new, something that we have not tried before. Often these are the most fun and if we take advantage of the new years positive vibe we can make a commitment early in the year, before reality sets in, and in so doing we can get ourselves lined up to do something that might be a stretch or even a big step up from anything we have done in the past. And in case you have not thought of something that would indeed be a stretch one example would be go take on one of the extreme fitness challenges like Tough Mudder or the Spartan Challenge. These races can be more extreme and rugged than anything you have done before. They are popular—and growing—obstacle-based courses that require a blend of fitness skills for competitive success, including balance, core strength and all-body endurance. Far from a typical 5K, adventure races force you to traverse rough terrain, run through mud, climb steep hills and navigate all manner of obstacles (depending on how hard-core you go). So, give it some thought – this might indeed be a big enough goal to get you to train differently and to achieve something big this year. And if not an adventure race then what else might you think of…….

Loving life, when running in adventure races