Rethinking Your 2026 Trail Calendar

Ok, 2026 here we go! 

Trail runners around the UK are no doubt dizzy with excitement and anticipation about where their running will take them this year, and rightfully so - we’ve a beautiful landscape to explore. Many of us will use events as a means to such adventure which leads me to share this cautionary advice, based upon something I see each year as a coach to trail ultra-runners.

Overestimating

Excuse my directness, I know you’re busy so I’ll get right to the point. Runners tend to overcommit with events, especially ultra-runners. Now, I’m fully aware not everyone is running long distance, nor should they feel the need to but overcommitment is a trend for all runners, all distances - road and trail alike.

In my experience runners tend to overestimate across the board what they can achieve in one year. A few too many events and a little too many miles leading to more than one heated discussion with their partner as they are caught surreptitiously preparing their vest pack - again. 

Can we take a deep breath and think this through together? Work and family commitments, projects you don’t even know about yet and potential injury setbacks, even if just a cold. Not to mention cost - time, energy and financial. 

Consider the ‘overhead tax’ not immediately calculable when you book an event - logistics of travel, accommodation - potentially a recce of the route or time pouring over maps. You will get caught staring into space on occasion too, as you play your race strategy through your mind, whilst someone is talking to you! 

Weigh all this up when you’re salivating at the events calendar with palpable enthusiasm. Assess that annual mileage target you may have just set or have you potentially planned one too many adventures. Coaching provides me a grounding without all the emotional attachment to what the runner feels, I’d like to think that’s what makes me useful in helping runners form decisions, I can see clearly looking in. I confess, I’ve at times failed to heed my own advice and not always achieved this balance as a runner (staring into space while my wife is talking to me to later claim she didn’t tell me something) - but we all live and learn right! 

Take your time on your running journey, whatever stage you’re at. Focus on enjoying your running and make events a fun part of that. We are all different personalities, but taking on too much isn’t nice for anyone. A more balanced, thoughtful approach leads me to the next point, that paradoxically scrambling around trying to achieve this year can detract from the wider vision, and I find runners can underestimate their future potential. 

Underestimating

A year is such a pretty thing dressed in its neatly packed 12 months. But it doesn’t take a year to hit your best as a trail runner, it takes much longer. For many, it’s a lifetime obsession, a way of life. A narrowed focus on the year is to be expected and is useful but a blinkered one is limiting. By only thinking about this year, you potentially naturally feel much more related to your ability now. Having a loose 3–5-year vision can help you broaden your horizons and imagine bigger things. Not everyone wants to run longer or in more challenging terrains, that’s cool too. But you’ll need a longer plan if it’s something you dream of. 

I invite you to ponder what you’d like to achieve with your running in the next few years, which events and where would you like to explore. Don’t worry too much right now if it seems possible, with the right approach you may be able to make it so - plus you’ve got 2026 to get going! 

Are you overestimating your year? 

Are you underestimating your running journey lifetime potential?

Everyone at Harrier wishes you an incredible year on the trails.

Run Free.

Ronnie