As I look for what races to do in 2020 I have begun to ask myself is it PRs I am chasing or challenging myself both physically and mentally? Of course, these two aren’t mutually exclusive.

It is easy to quantify a PR, it is a completely objective goal. Perhaps that is why in the past I have used marathon and 5k times as my yardsticks. This year, however, I do not care as much about times as much as I care about running races that are going to challenge me the most. I want to run fast, but the races I have in my mind won’t be on courses where a PR is possible.

Some may say this is taking the easy way out. I would disagree, if you run the race properly it could be much more demanding. In the races I will be competing in you can’t look at your watch and gauge effort or speed, you have to listen to your body. The goal is to push your body as hard as you can. You don’t have the luxury of looking down at your watch and seeing a split that is too fast and say to yourself – “ease up, you are going to fast.” Instead, you race the race and don’t give a damn about time, but leaving it all out there.

I have 3 races that I have earmarked – a half marathon on a trail that is completely runnable, a hilly ten miler on the roads, and a 10k on the trails that again is runnable. Will I get a PR in any of these? Definitely not. Will I become a better runner for doing them? Very likely.