Efforts like former rugby league star Kevin Sinfield who ran 100 miles in 24 hours from Leicester to Leeds. Then there were people with severe handicaps who gritted their teeth and achieved what seemed like the impossible. There were people who ran a marathon every day for a month and so the list goes on.
These things showed that human endurance is alive and well. There was one, however, that left me a bit underwhelmed. It made the national news last week. This guy ran 5k every day for a year. Yes he did it for a good cause (the details of which escape me at the moment) but surely this isn't a difficult challenge for a person who is young and fit. Yes I know he had to go out in all weathers and I know he had to force himself to run when he wasn't feeling 100% but I reckon there are runners throughout the country who achieve a daily 5k run without making the national headlines or thinking it is anything special.
I searched the internet with the words man who ran 5k every day for charity and came up with another hugely underwhelming message. A fitness trainer ran 5k every day for a month. There's something inside me that says "big deal" to this. This man who shall remain nameless is a physical trainer and You Tuber and he ran what was described as "a little over three miles every day for 30 days." This man is an exercise pro so it scarcely came hard to him.
I do admire local people who have never run before undertaking this kind of challenge which is tough for them but for a fitness professional it is little more than a walk in the park.
So what are you doing fitness wise I hear you say? Well I saw another website asking people to walk the equivalent distance of Land's End to John O' Groats during the year. That's around 603 miles or 970k. That means a walk of just under 1.7 miles a day (2.7 k). That seems too easy for me. So my aim for 2022 is to walk from Land's End to John O'Groats and back. That will be 1206 miles or 3.4 miles a day. But then I thought "That's a bit easy as well." Last year (2001) I walked a distance of 1,432 miles and that included two periods of isolation when I wasn't allowed out of the house (one when I had COVID and one when I got pinged). So my aim for 2022 has been revised and I will be looking to average over four miles a day and complete over 1,500 miles. That's Land's End to John O'Groats and return and then back again.
For this challenge I define walking as a specific walk outside. It doesn't include walking in the house, walking whilst gardening or in the supermarket. It has to be a specific walk that isn't part of the daily routing (although of course it will become part of the daily routine).
Sometimes it just isn't possible to fit in a walk but I will try to limit my non walking days to a maximum of two a month.
And I'm also hoping to get back on my bike. I haven't set a target for this yet but will be thinking of one over the next few days. Having said all the above, I fear that my running days may be over. I tried to get back into this last year but really struggled with my breathing. I was never comfortable with long distance running, being more of a sprinter in my younger days. I was happy with 100 and 200 yards and did well in school athletic competitions but as soon as I went up to 400 or 800 I really struggled. There's a certain something that makes a long distance runner and I'm afraid it's something I never had, although I can still run 100 yards without a problem and pretty quick for my age.
Anyway enough about fitness. I don't have to set myself writing aims for the year as they naturally exist.
First of all there will be 12 editions of my village magazine Hethersett Herald which is in many ways my pride and joy and which has been running for over six years and 76 editions. I like to think that it's of interest to people who don't live in the area. If you've never seen it do pop along to www.hethersettherald.weebly.com and have a look.
A friend and regular contributor to the Herald - John Head - asked me on Sunday whether I was happy with articles not specifically about the village. He has already written about his father and mountaineering. My rules for the magazine are quite simple. News and articles either have to be about Hethersett or written by somebody from Hethersett. That gives me a pretty broad canvas.
Secondly there will be four editions of the Norfolk Family History Society magazine to produce. This comes out quarterly and last year went full colour. It includes articles on family research along with articles of an historical nature about the county of Norfolk.
I have recently agreed to take on the role of editor of the village Good News magazine which is a monthly publication centred around the parish church. So I will be looking to edit and produce 12 of these.
Finally I have my book on Le Paradis Massacre to finish writing and I'm hoping to have that with the publishers in early Spring.
Add to all this scheduled visits to many parts of the country, spending time with the grandchildren, doing the garden and all the other chores and I don't think I will be twiddling my thumbs for very long. Oh I forgot about helping to run the local Library Friends Group and the twice monthly dementia support group meetings and trying to expand my You Tube channel, watching Norwich City, being a vice president of the local football club and, of course, this daily blog which must now be approaching its 1,000th although that landmark may have already been reached. Happy Days.