Setting goals, and working hard to achieve them

“Start with a dream… finish with a memory.”

Back in May 2025, I ran my first marathon in Edinburgh. It was a tough experience, and one that I was pleased to have completed, but I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 56 minutes knowing that I could do better.

My daughter was waiting for me at the end. As I lay there exhausted, she came over and asked,

“Daddy, why did you take so long?!”

Perhaps it was the motivation I needed.

I remember telling our Deputy Headteacher Mrs Clifton, as she looked at my medals in my office, that I thought I could take a significant amount of time off my marathon personal best. I set myself a target of 3 hours and 30 minutes. She was, understandably, a little sceptical about whether I could make such a big improvement.

But I had a plan.

Before the summer break, I entered the Frankfurt Marathon, scheduled for October 25th 2026. Wanting to run faster would not be enough. I needed a plan, consistency and the discipline to follow it.

Since March, I’ve been running a lot more. I increased my training and included a mixture of sessions to develop speed, endurance and strength.

The results began to come.

Every one of my personal bests improved:

5km – from 20:26 down to 19:28.

5 miles – from 34:26 down to 33:23.

10km – from 43:32 down to 41:40.

Half Marathon – from 1:41:08 down to 1:35:22.

These improvements showed me that the plan was working. Each personal best made the next target feel more realistic. The marathon was the final piece of the puzzle, and the distance at which I felt I could improve most.

Walking the walk was going to be every bit as important as talking about what I wanted to achieve. I made a commitment that action means more than words, so less talking about what I'm going to do, and more doing what I'm going to do.

My long runs in the lead-up to Frankfurt were carefully planned. Over four consecutive weeks, I ran 24km, then 28km, then 30km, and finally 32.2km. A marathon is 42.2km, so these sessions were designed to build the endurance and confidence I would need to cover the full distance.

After that came a three-week taper. I reduced the distance to 24km, then 20km, before resting completely during the week before the race. Running less after months of building fitness can feel counterintuitive, but tapering allows your body to recover and be ready. It is not the time to squeeze in one last huge effort.

I also learned from the mistakes I had made in Edinburgh. I had not practised fuelling properly and hit the wall. This time, I practised taking on fuel during long runs so I knew what worked and could make it part of my race-day routine.

The preparation in the final few days was just as important. I made sure I was properly carb-loading, taking in free pasta and, perhaps even more enjoyably, a huge pizza the day before the race!

However, I was also keen not to overcomplicate things. I stuck to my normal routine, having porridge for breakfast and bananas as snacks. There was little point in making unnecessary changes to something that was already working.

On race day, I took an energy gel on the start line, and every half an hour thereafter, making sure that I kept fuelling consistently rather than waiting until I felt tired or hungry. This was one of the biggest lessons I had taken from Edinburgh.

‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail’ is somewhat of a cliche, but preparation is made up of small, unglamorous decisions: getting kit out the night before and ensuring you are good to go the next day is important for mental preparation.

There is, of course, a significant mental side to running a marathon. Forty-two kilometres is a very long way, particularly when you are trying to run it without stopping. That is part of the appeal. It is as much a test of patience and determination as physical fitness. This is why I really like it as a challenge.

One of the biggest advantages I had in Frankfurt was having my brother-in-law, Adam, alongside me. Adam is a 2-hour-37-minute marathon runner, so he knows a thing or two about running at pace! Having someone with his experience to pace me was invaluable. He helped me keep things controlled, resist the temptation to go too quickly early on, and stay focused on the target we had set. He also carried my gels, asked if I needed water, and gave me words of encouragement when he could see that I needed them.

It is very easy to get carried away at the beginning of a marathon, particularly when you feel fresh and surrounded by thousands of other runners. But I knew that running within myself was going to be important if I was to have anything left for the later stages. This became particularly important around halfway when my left hip began to hurt a little.

The days before a marathon can be difficult. Runners often refer to this as ‘maranoia’: sudden aches and pains, worries about getting ill, and the nagging feeling that you have not done enough. Those doubts can easily take over.

I tried to keep the Serenity Prayer in mind:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

There were plenty of things I couldn't control. The weather (rainy, cold and windy at the start), the number of runners (over 13,000) and the inevitable unpredictability of a big city marathon.

But there were also plenty of things I could control.

I could control my fuelling, taking a gel every half an hour. I could control my pace, keeping it sensible and controlled throughout. I could control my attitude and, perhaps most importantly, I could make a conscious decision to enjoy the experience.

I had done the preparation. There was little point worrying about things outside my control when I could concentrate on getting the things within my control right.

I had three targets going into Frankfurt:

Plan A: Under 3 hours 15 minutes.

Plan B: Somewhere between 3 hours 15 and 3 hours 25.

Plan C: Any time under 3 hours 30.

I was ambitious, but I also wanted to be sensible. I knew that a significant improvement on Edinburgh was possible, but I needed to respect the distance and trust the training.

And then came the race itself.

The first half went according to plan. Adam helped me maintain a controlled pace, and I resisted the temptation to chase runners or push harder than I needed to. I was enjoying the atmosphere, taking in the experience and making sure that I kept to my fuelling schedule. Other than the slight pain I felt in my left hip at around 20km, I was happy with how it was going.

There is something particularly challenging about the final 10km of a marathon.

You might think that, having already run 32km, you are nearly there.

In reality, the last 10km is arguably the real halfway point of the marathon. It is where the physical fatigue starts to become much more noticeable, where your legs begin to protest, and where the mental battle really begins.

This is where all the preparation matters.

I remembered a technique that Paula Radcliffe used during her marathon running career. She would count to 100, increasing the count by one with every breath out, before starting again.

I decided to commit to it over the last 10km.

It worked brilliantly. Rather than thinking about how far I still had to run, or how tired my legs were becoming, I concentrated on counting. One breath out, one number. Then the next. And the next.

When I knew there was only around a mile left, I knew I only needed to count to 300 or so.

It gave my mind something simple and purposeful to focus on. It helped me break down what otherwise felt like an enormous challenge into manageable little sections. Before I knew it, I had worked through another set of 100.

I also reminded myself that I had prepared for this. I had completed the long runs, practised my fuelling, improved my speed and built the endurance required. This was not the time to question whether I could do it. It was the time to trust the process.

And so I kept going.

I crossed the finish line in Frankfurt in 3 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds.

A personal best by more than 30 minutes.

It was an incredibly satisfying moment. Not simply because of the time, but because of what it represented: months of hard work, a carefully structured plan, improvements across every distance, learning from previous mistakes and having the discipline to stick to the approach when it mattered most. There is no better feeling than achieving something you have set out to do, and worked hard for. Everyone can feel such fulfilment - trust the process, believe in yourself, and keep fighting when the going gets tough.

I also owe a huge amount to Adam. Having him alongside me, helping to pace the race and keeping me focused, made a real difference. It was a brilliant experience to share.

I like setting difficult goals - I always have. I like having something to work towards, and discovering that I am capable of more than I might initially have thought. More important than any stopwatch, though, is the confidence that comes from knowing I have put the work in.

There is a lesson here that applies well beyond running.

For our students, ambitious goals can feel a long way away. It is not always easy to see how today's small steps will add up, and progress is not always immediate. There will inevitably be moments when things feel uncomfortable or when the outcome seems uncertain.

But the answer is to make a plan, use the support around you, learn from the things that have not gone so well, and keep taking the next step. Break a big challenge into smaller, achievable parts. Celebrate the progress along the way. Focus on the things you can control, and don't allow the things you cannot control to distract you from your goal.

Believe that improvement is possible, and give yourself the time and opportunity to make it happen.

Start with a dream. Put a plan in place. Do the work.

And, when the moment comes, give yourself the chance to finish with a memory.