So...What's Next Alice?

Following my completion of the London Marathon (see image), the question that soon followed the standard 'How did you get on?', 'What was your time?', 'Did you enjoy it?' was - 'So what's next Alice?' People know me by now, there is always a 'next'. So what exactly it is...

My next event is the Rock n Roll Liverpool Half Marathon, in just over a week's time. This race has become a bit of an annual event for me; with my sister living in Liverpool it makes for an easy trip logistically, and even bigger bonus is the race is also very good, with an interesting course and great atmosphere (read about my past experiences here and here). I am a little unsure what my aim for this race is as I have not really trained specifically for it and am just relying on my residual marathon fitness and the running I have been doing since. I would really like to just enjoy the day and not put too much pressure on myself, however, so far in 2017 I have ran PBs at 5k, 10k, and marathon distance, so the temptation to try add a Half Marathon PB to the list is also on my mind..!

My love of parkrun is unquestionable and I am very happy to be closing in on my 50th run. A focus of the next month is therefore also to reach this milestone. I want to run my 50th event with my friend and running buddy, who I have shared many a Saturday morning with at our local Lincoln parkrun. She is three parkruns behind me in the quest to reach the big 5-0, so the next few weeks have been carefully planned to incorporate a mixture of me running and volunteering to ensure we reach our 50th parkrun together.

Perhaps the biggest 'whats next?' is the fact I will be returning to Berlin in September to take on the Berlin Marathon again, which I cannot wait for. I ran the marathon last year (read more here) and I loved both the race and the city. The plan in 2016 was to run the marathon with my friend, but sadly injury meant I completed it on my own with my friend, as ever, offering her support and cheering me onto, at the time, a new PB. ​

The decision to go back to Berlin this year with my friend and take on the marathon again was therefore simple. Whilst I want to experience other marathons and, like many, am trying to complete all the World Marathon Majors, I value running with friends and sharing experiences more than just ticking off races. My friend and I both have a dream aim of running Berlin in a sub 3:45 time, which would give me a new PB and also a Good For Age time for a few races, including the London Marathon. I have no idea if this will be possible or if I am even capable of running a marathon that fast, and only time and training will tell this, but what I do know is I want to try run the marathon together and be able to share the ultimate experience. 

No doubt between now and the Berlin Marathon in September there will be some other races and running milestones pop up along the way, but for now my response to the 'what's next' question is looking pretty exciting. ​