2024 Running Year in Review

25 Jan 2025 • 0 Comments

[ running  ultrarunning  utmb  review  ]

This is a summary of how 2024 turned out to be for me in terms of running. I have kept it very short when it comes to mentioning the races etc., otherwise it would be a neverending story 😉.

Training Volume

According to Strava, in 2024 I ran 5000K over 501h with a total elevation gain landing on 50K (due to trail running and some longer mountain races). That’s equivalent to an average of 96K / 9.5h per week.

That was a lot more than I ever thought I would do. Even now I cannot imagine running an average of 95K+ per week consistently. So that was probably a one off for me - I expect 2025 to be much less in terms of volume and time spent running.

Races

I had planned 14 races for 2024. Some were added during the year - but most were planned as the year kicked off.

I successfully ran all of them. No injuries/illness prevented me to start - and no races resulted in a DNF.

The list contains 8 ultra races. Including the two big ones (“A races” if you will) UTMB CCC and Kullamannen by UTMB. Both races are without doubts the toughest I have been racing. Due to their length and terrain. But they were also among the biggest adventures too:

  • With UTMB CCC I ran 100K with more than 6K elevation gain. My longest mountain race to date.
  • With Kullamannen by UTMB I ran my first 100M distance (160K). My longest race to date.

I also had a few other note worthy “firsts” of race types I had not tried before: a Backyard Ultra (Wayout Backyard Ultra) and a 12 hour race (24TimerVedHavet). I love these formats now, so that is definitely not the last time I will try them 🤩. What set them apart from normal races is the social aspect; they are race types in which you get to run and chat with so many different runners (over and over again). Highly recommended.

Lastly, a special note to Badwater 267 VR: a 30-day virtual race where I ran 429K in January. There is no doubt that the volume I had to go through there actually was the prime motivation for continuing a generally high volume in the next months too.

Personal Bests (PBs)

Before you go on and read about all my new shiny PBs it is probably necessary for me to say that I am a rather new runner. I am old - at the time of writing this post I am 46 years 😰 - but in terms of running I have only got a few years of solid training. This clearly explains why I at my age can set all these PBs in just one year 😉.

Anyways, it was a very successful year in terms of PBs. I updated almost all my PBs for every major distance. Next you find the PBs split on different dimensions (elevation gain, duration, pace).

Elevation Gain based PBs

With Race: UTMB CCC I achieved a new Elevation Gain PB: 5755m. Never tried anything close to that before (or after). The most demanding hiking stretches I have ever tried - but it’s all ok when you get to do it in those fantastic surroundings. Nothing can really beat the beauty of the UTMB race.

A few photos from that race:

Duration based PBs (time on feet)

With Race: Kullamannen by UTMB I achieved a new PB with regards to duration (time on feet): 23h50m02s. We set out Friday when it was dark (November in Sweden 🇸🇪) and I got in just after it went dark again the next day (Saturday). You can call that a challenge 😆.

A few photos from that race:

Pace based PBs

All PBs have been captured on my Strava profile. Except for the 100K and 100M distances as they are not part of the Best Efforts tracking. By the way 100M means 100 miles wheres 100K means 100 kilometers.

The 100 miler PB is there because it was also the first time I ran that race distance 😉. And as is evident I set most of my PBs in a Halfmarathon race. That was tough … but also a race where everything clicked. The PBs set in that race will be very difficult for me to get near again.