1. Crossing the finishing line of the TP100 with UltraBaby. I was in a bit of a mess as I crossed the line for the finish but I insisted that I do it carrying my daughter who seemed somewhat nonplussed by the whole thing but for me it was a finish I will never ever forget. I’ll also never forget the paramedics trying to take her off me in case I dropped her as I crossed the line – as if I would.
2. The Halfway Point of the Saltmarsh 75. Sat in the pub at the overnight camp for Saltmarsh was an experience in friendship. I feel compelled to mention  the awesome Ian Brazier, Simon Oswald and co who provided the most enjoyable mid point company possible. What made this even more amusing viewing though was the departure of several pairs of trousers so the runners could sit in nothing more than their compression tights. I’m not sure I ever want to see that again 🙂
3. Returning to racing at the Vigo Valentines 10. Having had more than 6 months off in the previous year I hoped I had finally recovered from injury. This race gave me so much confidence to go into the rest of 2015, I wasn’t fast on the day but I had such fun.
4. Thayer, Emma, Emma, Kat, Jools, Rachel, Traviss, Joanna, Kate, Joe, Conrad, Ben, Ian, Ian, Sam, Gill, Clare, Rob … The list is near endless of awesome runners I’ve had the opportunity to meet this year, and with each and everyone I’ve had a particular experience you can’t properly explain or put into words that would do it justice. The absolute highlight though was finally meeting EmLa and discovering she’s as awesome in person as she is on Twitter. If 2016 offers the same level of new/old and interesting people I’ll be a happy bunny.
5. Medway 10km sprint finish. 200metres to go and I kicked a bit early – I mean who was I racing? Just me surely? Turns out the lanky streak of piss next to me didn’t want to be beaten by a short, middle-aged man wearing a buff and so he kicked with me! Ha! I kept pace with him until about the 90metres from home point and then I shouted over the fury of those final metres ‘You’ve got me kid, well done’. The problem was my legs were no longer attached to my mouth and I broke for a second kick and as I raced to the finish my opponent drifted into the distance behind me. Turns out in the timing chip scenario I’d beaten him by nearly a minute but there’s nothing more fun than a sprint to the finish line – especially on a track. Awesome.
6. Jo! The TP100 had so many highlights but one of my absolute favourites is the one I keep retelling to other runners because it amuses me. I’d just finished having a very long piss when a young lady came across me. When she asked if we could run together for a bit I was perfectly happy to do so however, it was the ‘you don’t look like the type who’d rape me’ that ensured I would never forget Jo. She was some of the best (and strangest) company I’ve ever had on a race but it was a delight to come across her again at the Saltmarsh 75. Thanks Jo.
7. A family race. The GingaNinja and I don’t often do the same events anymore, she’ll sometimes roll up to a 10km and I’ll sometimes do a swim but when the Westminster Mile reared its head I asked if she fancied it (and we invited her mum, who accepted). The four of us rolled up to the start line – UltraBaby strapped to my front and 8minutes 39seconds later my daughter finished as about the 200th fastest female – not bad given her feet didn’t touch the ground!
8. New job, new boss, some understanding. Most people think you’re bonkers when you tell them you run hundred mile races or run through the night across mountains or spend hundreds of your hard earned pounds on Lycra but my boss (The Big G) is a bit of an extreme triathlete and therefore understands why I do what I do and I’ve spent most of the last working year chatting about upcoming races, looking up new races and discussing strategies. It’s possible I wouldn’t be running the Isle of Skye ultra in May if it hadn’t been for our conversations about it!
9. Birthday. I’m a notorious grumpy bugger at my birthday but the GingaNinja made it much better this year by ordering, from France, without my knowing, the difficult to acquire at the time, Altra Lone Peak 2.5 (what a shoe!)
10. Goodbye Verucca. I’d had this bloody thing for ages and it kept opening up incredibly painfully on long distance trails (especially the TP100). I’m useless with medical stuff so the GingaNinja dealt with it every night for nearly three months and managed to kill it off just prior to the SainteLyon. The reward was that my feet held up so much better on the trails because of her tenacity in dealing with a  terrible patient.

So fellow runners what about your highlights of the year?

*Please note that the above list is in no particular order