23/04/2026
“Why do you do these things?”
On day four of my 203km frolic around Fryslan last week, I had the pleasure of being joined by my colleague Josh, for my entire 34km run that day.
Somewhere around 20km while we were being rained on and battered by a headwind, he asked, “why do you do this stuff?” 😂
I told him pretty much exactly this: There are just SO many reasons why I do these things.
Every year for at least the last five years, I’ve done an end of year review, when I spend up to a few days reviewing my highlights, lowlights, significant events, accomplishments, failures - pretty much everything important that’s happened to (or been created by) me in the past 365 days.
I noticed a pattern the last few years. Without fail, the three biggest achievements or highlights involved:
🌀 A massive physical goal
🌀 Being outside
🌀 Being surrounded and/or supported by people who love me
I have spent the last 15 years directing everything into my educational and career development. I’m still totally obsessed with exercise and sports science. I love coaching and it is so rewarding.
But I realised, that even though I adore my work and feel fulfilled by it, the really big and rewarding things for me each year involve my OWN personal, physical goals.
So I decided to start making more of them happen. I’m so fascinated by how far I can go. I am not exaggerating when I say I’m the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been. My PRs and all the data points agree with that statement.
But more than that. The second I start running, especially if life is feeling hard, I remember two things:
🌀 This is all I need to do in anything. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
🌀 I can look after myself. These big challenge I organise for myself remind me that I’m not alone, because so many people come out to support. But at the same time, I’ve had to do the physical and mental prep to get there. There are long stretches where it is just me and my brain and body. And I know I’ve got my back.
So, I guess that’s why. ✌️
