A new year brings new year’s resolutions, the dreams of what you will achieve and, for trail runners, those all important trail running goals. Whether it’s to run your first half trail marathon or to compete in a 50-100 mile ultra, we all have different running objectives. For those that have been running for a number of years, the goals tend to change each year. They get bigger, more ambitious and more difficult. We look to put our bodies, and minds, to the test and see just how far we can go. The hills become mountains, the small trails become longer ones, the distance becomes much greater.

The Goals Get Bigger

My first goal, after running a tough winter 10k was to actually bring that 10k down to under an hour. Wow – that seems so long ago and that goal has long since been achieved. The next goal was to complete a half marathon. Challenge complete and so on to the next challenge – a marathon. Of course, I didn’t stop there and then the marathon had to be tougher – the Snowdonia Marathon. Then came my first 30 mile ultra followed by a 50 mile ultra and so it goes on…

Something to Aim For

The point is… each year we set ourselves a challenge, it gives us something to train for, something to focus on and achieve, whatever your motivations for running might be. Perhaps your trail running goal this year is to complete your first off road marathon, maybe it’s to run a 100 miler. The important thing is to focus and to stick to a plan. We always find the start of a new year gives us a great place to start from. It’s usually the start of the spring marathon training season and many of our fellow club members are hitting the roads and the trails at the same time.

Planning and Training is Key

Trail running goals can only be achieved when you train and plan for them, something that we know all too well. Our website, while fairly young, comes from years of experience and knowledge as well as UKA qualifications. Our trail running goals for this year, aside from completing a couple of chosen ultra trail marathons, are to share our knowledge and experience with you to help you achieve yours. We will continue to provide you with trail training sessions to help you get stronger and more confident as well as sharing kit lists, training gear suggestions and any other information that we will think that you will find useful.

Share Your Trail Running Goals

We’d love to hear what your plans are for 2021 and how you will achieve them. Of course, we are all somewhat hostage to the circumstances of a certain pandemic. It has certainly thrown a spanner in the works of many races this year but if, like us, you are determined to carry on enjoying the world of trails, there is plenty to focus on. In fact, we’ve found our own trail running goals a welcome distraction during the past year. We welcome your feedback on your favourite training gear too, to hear your tips and share in your success. Feel free to leave a comment on our blog, check out our pages for inspiration and advice or follow us on Instagram or Facebook. Got a question about trail running that you’d like answered? Send us a message. Finally, good luck with those 2021 trail running goals.



Disclaimer: This article includes affiliate links which may provide a small commission to me at no cost to you. The products we recommend are either those that we’ve used or that our fellow runners have used.