2022 in review By Sid

Hi Team,

Before we get together for the Hungry Runner Christmas party, I wanted to share some personal thoughts of 2022. It has been a great year personally and professionally!

First a huge thanks to all of you (runners and coaches) for such an amazing year. More than ever, I feel like Hungry Runner is a running community. Throughout the year, many new members joined the group which brought an interesting and exciting diversity. But most of all, welcoming new runners is always a pleasure! I am also proud to see that our training philosophy has remained intact: train and race hard, with fun and inclusiveness! We know how to keep it fun and promote great sports values. To all the athletes that I coach, thank you for your trust. This racing season has been filled with amazing results, experiences, and emotions. I can’t thank you enough! I respect and admire the dedication and energy you put into your training!

For many, the start of 2022 felt a bit different in terms of motivation. I believe that the multiple race cancelations over the past years (covid or weather events) got us to be cautious about our plans. Most of us ended up registering for local events only, which may have resulted in some boredom and loss of drive. Therefore, my take for 2023 is that we need to aim high and choose motivating goals that will challenge us. Be bold and imaginative! 😊 Also, check the Hungry runner calendar! https://www.hungryrunner.net/single-post/2023-race-calendar-running-trail-running

Last summer we faced some sudden group developments, as the average level of runners increased a lot which made the group runs less inclusive and some runners felt left behind. We are sorry that this happened. In response we asked for your feedback and made some changes: Tuesday sessions now have two different warm-up distances which seems to be a success. The Thursday trail run is still a work in progress, as trails do not allow for much flexibility to cope with large variability within the group, but we will get there! We want to make the group sessions as good and enjoyable as we can, so please feel free to message us anytime with suggestions on how we can achieve this. It is amazing to have sessions for all levels, and it allows us to feed from each other’s motivation (and chase some quicker legs)!

On a personal side, early this year I decided to start a master’s degree in High-Performance Sports at UTS. After 14 years away from university, it was time to shake my aging neurons! This decision was motivated by the fact that in recent years, more runners and increasingly competitive runners turned towards Hungry Runner for coaching. I wanted to step up as a coach and offer the best guidance possible. It has been the most exciting professional decision I have made in recent years. I completed three subjects this year and already feel like another coach! I am much more curious, critical, and open-minded. Next year I am enrolled in four subjects, which will be tougher but worthwhile! Hopefully you can pick the fruits of my newly acquired wisdom 😉.

In addition to the master’s, last year has been very busy for me with buying and moving into a new house in April. Also, multiple isolations and sicknesses kept me away from the group midyear (thanks to Michelle, Anthony, Peter, Mick and Glenn the sessions were maintained!). And last but not least, there was the birth of Jules mid-September! But although my days have felt increasingly shorter, I somehow managed to improve my running and finished the year feeling great during some local running events. Overall, I look back at 2022 feeling fulfilled but also keen to build further on the fitness acquired 😊.

So where to in 2023?

- A junior running group will start in February, coached by Michelle and myself. It has been a desire for both of us and we finally made it happen, our challenge is to make a physically demanding sport extremely fun! https://www.hungryrunner.net/juniorcoaching

- A Hungry Runner Team coached by myself. North Queensland doesn’t have much support for runners that want to push limits and be more competitive. The Hungry Runner Team is the opportunity to bring together strong athletes and provide them with more means to improve. It is an exciting (and slightly scary) project! https://www.hungryrunner.net/teamhr

- We will keep on developing the Hungry Runner community, through group runs, training workshops, running camps, group events, and racing travels as a group! Follow the calendar, it will be updated regularly!!! https://www.hungryrunner.net/single-post/2023-race-calendar-running-trail-running

- A new virtual run series will be launched called ‘Runaround’. We are developing this together with Luen from Wanderstories (https://wanderstories.space/), and we are putting in place a virtual series for next year! Stay tuned and check our website regularly! https://runaround.com.au/about

If you have any suggestions for 2023 please message us.

Don’t forget to register for the Christmas party! https://fb.me/e/3FpCdjlex

Thank you all!

Sidney