This year, I ran further than I have ever done before. Running has become an integral part of my everyday life. It is my meditation, the time where I clean up mentally and mindfully. Running is hard, but it is also fun and rewarding. It does spark joy. Otherwise, I would not do it; chores only get you so far, and if I did not like running I would find other ways to reach the same goals.
My philosophy of running is overall identical to the one proposed by Coach Bennett (who also leads the guided runs in the Nike Run Club app, which I use). He has put into words the mindset around running I already had, laying out my approach in a more clear and structured way than I was able to myself.
In addition to enjoyment, I believe in consistency, in kindness (to others and to myself), and in stoicly accepting (and adapting to) what I cannot control. I believe you should not take yourself too serious, but you should be very serious about your relationships and about what you do.
Now for some numbers. In 2025, I did 135 runs, spent 166:58:30 on running, and ran a total of 1,734.88 km. 120 (88.9 %) of the runs were longer than 5 km, 45 (33.3 %) longer than 21.1 km (i.e., half-marathon distance). The latter is probably due to the fact that I pursue running 52 half-marathons (runs, not races) in 52 weeks. At the time of this writing, I am 45 runs into this project, and it should be finished in late February.
The highlights of the year include racing Copenhagen Marathon in May, Helsingborg Marathon and CPH Half in September, a short run with my daughter in November, and Champagnegaloppen in December.
I do not run to win races, but races are celebrations of running and I like that. They mix things up, and it is good for me to competitively test my progress every now and then. What I have experienced over the year is that my sense of running and my ability to control my racing have both improved immensely: I largely know what I can do, how to do it, and how to adapt along the way if something changes. In particular, I am happy with the way I executed my strategies for CPH Half and Champagnegaloppen and how I was able to perform there.
Another highlight was keeping up with the community of runners on Mastodon. The amounts of support, encouragement, and inspiration that pour from this group of people is truly amazing. It makes a difference.
I am not a very fast runner (this figure show the relation between distance and pace on my runs; each dot represents a run). And that is absolutely ok; I am literally in it for the long run. That said, I will try to push myself a little more next year in terms of pace – just to see where that gets me.
For 2026, I have four goals for my running:
- To break 4:07:00 on the marathon distance. My current PR is 4:14:31, so I need to shave 11 seconds off each km to reach my goal. I have signed up for the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris in April and Copenhagen Marathon in May. I may add another one in the fall.
- To run Champagnegaloppen on December 31 in 49 minutes or less (my current PR on that distance is 49:34).
- To still run at least twice each week.
- To still focus on joyful running.
The last two goals are of course the most important ones.
See you on the next starting line.