2022, the year of the tiger!
It feels weird writing 2022 doesn't it?! It does not seem like 5 minutes ago I was writing 2012 and being super excited about the Olympics...
My main goal for 2022 is to run sub 20 minutes for 5K...
It is going to be a tough ask with my personal best from 2020 being 22:30
Having spent most of the early part of 2021 out with an achilles injury, I managed to get down to 23:20 at the Colchester FAST 5K at the end of 2021, so I feel like I am back on track and ready to kickstart the year with more interval based training.
1 - January
Markshall Estate Parkrun on 8th January 2022 in Coggleshall, Essex
I know Parkrun is not a race, but I struggled to find anything in the race calendar that fits my schedule so I thought I would start the year with a flat-ish 5K to see where I am at, at the beginning of a 14 week training block.
Marksall Estate is a new Parkrun local to me and we are doing a club Parkrun tour.
If you haven't already, register for your Parkrun barcode.
2 - February
English Cross Country Championships on 26th February 2022 at Parliament Hill, London.
Moment of madness, but I have really enjoyed the Essex cross country league with my club Boxted Runners. So I have decided to pit myself against the very best in the country with the only goal of not coming last!
It is a tough 12K course, but I do love cross country and as a kid when I ran the cross country season I always had a good track season the following year so my theory is I will run better in 2022 after a consistent cross country season...
Entry is £10 and you have to be a member of a affiliated running club.
Enter on English Cross Country website.
3 - March
Chelmsford 10K on 6th March 2022 in Chelmsford, Essex
I really enjoyed the Chelmsford Half Marathon in 2021 and in 2022 they are launching a 10K race to run alongside the half.
It is a closed roads race and well supported.
This gives me a solid 9 weeks to prepare and use it as build up race to when I hope to peak the following month.
Entry is £25 and you can enter at CMhalf.com.
4 - April
Little Bromley 10K on 17th April 2022 in Harwich, Essex
The Little Bromley 10K will be my main race for the early part of the year. This gives me a solid 14 weeks of training from the start of the year to prepare and try to beat my target time of a sub 45 minutes time!...
I haven't run this race before but I am told it is a fast flat course that is well attended by club runners.
Entry is an incredible £10 for affiliated runners and £12 for unaffiliated runners. At the time of writing there is only 17 entries left so you will have to be quick.
Enter at Harwich Runners
5 - May
Colchester Half Marathon on 22nd May 2022 in Colchester, Essex
I had said I would not do any half marathons this year but this route goes past my front door! I trained so hard for this race 2 years ago, only for it to be cancelled last minute because of COVID, so I feel like I have a score to settle with this race.
Entry is £29 for affiliated and £31 for unaffiliated runners.
Enter at colchesterhalfmarathon.co.uk
6 - June
Boxted 10K on 12th June 2022 in Boxted, Essex.
This is my clubs race, that is put on to raise money for the village school. There is also a 2K fun run and 5K option as well.
Entry is excellent value at just £14.50 for affiliated runners and £16.50 for unaffiliated runners.
Enter on the Boxted 10K website.
7 - July
Asics London 10K on Sunday 10th July 2022 in Central London.
I know some people aren't keen on the mass events but personally I love them. There is always a great atmosphere and the opportunity to run on closed roads is worth the premium entry fee for me.
This will be my second race I try to peak for and give me another opportunity to run sub 45 if my last attempt was not successful or go even faster...
Enter on the Limelight Sports club website
8 - August
Gravesend Floodlit 5K on Thursday 25th August 2022 in Gravesend, Kent.
I have seen this race advertised a lot and always fancied it but could never quite make it work. Think I can make it work in the warm months of August!
Entry is £12 for affiliated or £14 for unaffiliated or £15 on the night if entries still available.
Enter on the Nice Work website
9 - September
QE Olympic Park 5K on Saturday 17th September 2022 in London
I did this in 2020 when we came out of lockdown the 1st time and ran some of my quickest times here.
Entry is £25 and you can enter on the Run Through website
10 - October
Wix 5 Miles (Date TBC)
This one has been on my list to do but it always seems to clash with something.
Normally the last weekend of October.
Entry is £5.50 for affiliated runners and £7.50 for unaffiliated runners.
Enter on the Harwich Runners website (Not sure when entries open for this one)
11 - November
Hadleigh 5 Miles (Date TBC)
I ran the Hadleigh 5 last year and loved it. I feel like I need to conquer this race, the number of hills in the race have made this race my nemesis. It is also well attended by my club so has become a bit of ging gang.
Entry is £14 for affiliated members and £16 for non affiliated runners.
Enter on the Hadleigh Hares website but entries do not usually open until Autumn but it does sell out quickly.
12 - December
Southend 5 Miles Rudolph Run (Date TBC)
It has been a good 8 years since I last did this race and if I can get down to the sub 20 minutes in the 5K, I might just be able to beat my best mates best time of 33:47 to take ultimate bragging rights.
Organised by Nice-Work, entry information is not available at the time of writing.
What Are Your Main Races For 2022?
Comment below with what your goals are and what races you are doing in 2022. Is there any I should check out?
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