Happy New Year all, hope your training is going well, my new year’s resolution is to blog more, like my coach Rory Coleman does – he puts a small post up almost every day here.

On New Year’s eve we (partner Steve and I) booked flights to Costa Rica for The Coastal Challenge, an amazing 6-day race down the Pacific coast, ending at a turtle sanctuary. I’ve been training for it since I first met Rory on Wed 30 July 2014 and since then I’ve lost 8.2kg (1 stone 4lb) and can now very comfortably crack out a 55-60 mile week. Thanks Rory! He has kept me focussed and re-injected me with motivation when I was starting to get bored of training, I can’t believe the difference having a coach makes to your performance – so important if you’re doing your race of a life time.

You also need support from your family to fit in all this training so THANKS to lovely Steve most of all for running my 10 milers with me and putting up with abandonment for the 20s! Also my mum for being so understanding and flexible with family commitment timings. Stamford Striders for running super slowly (or looping back!) on the Sunday LSRs, and Hilary, Ed and Helen for accompanying me on the extra end bits I have to do to make it 20 miles.

I feel like I’ve been training forever. I’m the leanest and fittest I’ve ever been, I’m not injured, when I eat lots of food I feel fast and on fire, and now I just want to get racing! It’s going to go quick now, just 23 days before we fly and 26 days before the race starts on 1 Feb! Ian Corless will be tracking the elite athletes on the course, so be sure to follow him @Talkultra and find out more about who’s racing at his website here.

Trail Running magazine reader Chris Unger was thrilled to win our free prize entry to the race, I’ll be meeting him there very soon!