2024 – all over in a whirl. The year started with an almost perfect holiday week in Cyprus; spring and early summer were dominated by training for and completing my toughest ultramarathon challenge to date – 100k from London to Brighton. But there was still time for some little adventures too – a busy day in Swansea and revisiting my university days in Leicester.

In June, I caught up with friends and got to experience the almost-midnight sun in Helsinki, completed my 50 for 50 blogging challenge and celebrated another birthday. After a break from running and blogging over the summer, I’ve been back at both in the autumn. I completed my second ultramarathon of the year with the Winter Wirral Ultra and I’ve been writing about parkrun celebrations, Friday nights in Manchester, winter days in the Lakes and a work trip to Senegal, as well as revisiting some favourite trips and sharing travel tips from time gone by.

Over Christmas, its been a whole lot quieter. I’ve been taking time to reflect and catch up. And Mr T set us the challenge of watching all the Star Wars films in chronological order before the end of the year. We started last Monday and we’ve got one more film to watch tonight – that’s our NYE plans sorted!

And what have I learned or re-learned in this hectic, challenging but fulfilling year?

• Good health is everything – don’t take it for granted
• I’m a really big fan of brunch – especially at Ezra and Gill in Manchester
• The best cocktails come with a story and preferably some dry ice
• I’m happiest in my pyjamas but dressing for dinner can be fun
• Running a long way takes a lot of time and preparation, but it is worth the effort
• Coffee, cake and catch-ups with friends is nearly always the answer, whatever the question
• I must not forget where I’ve put my passport, especially when I’m at the airport
• I’m not too old to go to gigs at the Students’ Union, even if I feel like I am
• Lunchtime walks should be part of my routine as often as possible (still a work in progress)
• Friday night should be music night as often as possible
• Calon Lan at the Principality Stadium = goosebumps
• I like goals – whether for running, blogging, reading, eating or binge-watching movies
• I love watching friends achieve their goals and supporting them along the way
• Daffodils are still my favourite flowers
• I love a good mural
• If you’ve got an ocean view, you need to make the most of it
• Podcasts are a great way to listen to stories – try Midnight Burger if you’re a sci-fi fan.
• There are still more books to read than time to read them – I’ll just keep reading
• Check the time of the last train before you set off
• I spend too much time in front of a screen – another work in progress
• Mr T still can’t walk past an information board, wherever we are visiting
• My French speaking skills need a lot of work, but I’m getting better at listening and understanding
• My inner child is never far away, especially if I meet Lanky or bump into Paddington Bear or the Moomins
• I still get a buzz from travelling somewhere new, especially if it takes me out of my comfort zone
• A lot of different places feel like home and it’s great to spend time in all of them
• Enthusiasm is infectious and working with enthusiastic people is inspiring
• Saturday is still for parkrun
• Getting up early to watch the sunrise is never not worth it
• Sitting on the balcony and watching the bottle kilns is still my happy place
• I need to remember to say no occasionally

And last but not least – I still leave things to the last minute – I’m writing this at 6pm on New Year’s Eve

---

---

Life has been busy and not without a few bumps in the road, but we’ve covered a lot of ground too.

And now we’re on to 2025.

I’ve set myself a new blogging challenge – 52 for 52 in 2025; the aim is to publish something every week and this time it will be based around the books I’m reading. I’m not sure where the challenge will take me – there could be traditional book reviews; but also places I’m inspired to visit, food creations, running stories, music and, of course, book swap shelves. I’ve signed up to a couple of reading challenges to give me some extra inspiration.

Join me. Let’s see where we end up.