Redefining What Progress and Success Looks Like

“Your journey. Your pace.”

It's running season, and lately I've found myself thinking about what I want from my running over the coming months.

I've been considering the idea of taking on another full marathon. It's been around eight and a half years since my last one, and part of me would love to experience that challenge again. But having recently completed this weekend's half marathon in Al Ain (UAE), I'm starting to question whether now is the right time.

The half marathon this weekend was never intended to be an all-out race. I wanted to treat it as a training run, see where my fitness was, find a sustainable pace and aim to finish comfortably under two hours. I achieved that, which I'm really pleased with. However, I'm not entirely convinced I could have carried on for another 21km at the same pace! The last four kilometres were definitely more of a struggle, and I could feel where my training had been lacking.

Realistically, I've only been doing one consistent long run a week for the past few months. I haven't done any dedicated speed training, and I haven't done enough running at race pace. I felt that. And that's absolutely fine. It was a useful reminder of where I am right now, rather than where I might like to be.

It's also made me reconsider whether I really want to commit to marathon training at this particular point in my life. I know how demanding that training can be, not just physically but in terms of time, energy and recovery. I'm not sure I want to make those sacrifices right now, and perhaps that's something I need to be honest with myself about.

Which leads me to something else I have been reflecting about; how we measure progress and success.

Over the years, I've completed multiple half marathons and marathons, as well as functional fitness competitions. I'm proud of those achievements, but there's still sometimes a little part of me that feels embarrassed when sharing my times or paces. My PBs aren't particularly fast compared with many of the runners whose journeys I follow.

Social media doesn't necessarily help. It's full of incredible performances, ambitious goals and impressive PBs. It's easy to be proud of something you've achieved, only to see someone else do it faster or better and suddenly feel that your own achievement is somehow less impressive.

But there's another comparison trap that's just as easy to fall into: comparing yourself with previous versions of yourself. The version who was faster, fitter, stronger or able to train more consistently. It's easy to look back at old PBs and feel frustrated that you're not quite there anymore, forgetting that life changes, priorities shift and circumstances aren't always the same. I’m trying to remind myself that I don't need to be that version of me either.

I'm not trying to be an elite athlete. I'm trying to be the best athlete I can be within the life I actually have. That life includes a job, responsibilities, stress, sleep, relationships, strength training and plenty of other priorities. Running and fitness are incredibly important to me, but they're not my whole life.

My current goal is to find balance, enjoy my training and run because I love it, rather than constantly chasing PBs or feeling that every race needs to be faster than the last. Of course I still enjoy having goals, challenging myself and improving, but I don't want to turn something I love into another source of pressure.

Perhaps success right now isn't necessarily signing up for another marathon or chasing a new PB. Perhaps it's continuing to build consistency, enjoying my weekly runs, getting stronger and being happy with the progress I'm making, without feeling that I always need to do more.

Progress doesn't always have to mean faster times or longer distances. Sometimes it's getting out for a run after a stressful week, choosing recovery over another hard session, completing a race at a comfortable pace or simply recognising how much you've achieved.

I can admire someone who runs a half marathon in 1:20 while being equally proud of my own sub-two-hour finish. I can appreciate how fast or fit I used to be without feeling that my current self is somehow less worthy. And I can want to improve without feeling that where I am right now isn't good enough.

Ultimately, you don't have to be the fastest, the strongest or the best to be proud of what you've achieved. You also don't have to keep outperforming your past self to prove that you're making progress.

Sometimes the biggest achievement is finding a way to keep showing up, enjoying the process and making running part of a life that feels balanced and fulfilling.

And for now, that's more than enough.