31/12/2025
By far the greatest part of being a coach is being able to witness some of my athletes’ amazing feats. I sat down to try and round up 2025 in LFS athlete achievements and it was impossible: not only were there too many race results that blew my mind, but there were also the quiet hard working achievements that count for so much - the consistent miles, day in day out.
But it’s the last day of the year and we love a list, so here’s the extremely abridged list of my athlete achievements that really blew me away this year, and made me so proud to be a coach.
5) Survival at - if you weren’t there, it’s hard to explain just how hard conditions were. We started in a hail storm and dealt with winds that averaged around 40kmh on an exposed course. Seeing .sy.jo , and tough it out, never give in and finish strong (all running up that final hill) was just incredible, and testament to the grit and strength of these wāhine toa.
4) at Luxmore Grunt. This is a tough race and it was Katie’s second attempt. Amazingly, she knocked off 37 minutes - well over a minute per km - and in trademark Katie style, seemed barely aware of just how insane that was!
3) Sticking with - running her 18th Kepler in 10:39, a full 39 minutes faster than the year before, and her fastest time since 2022 (despite the fact she claims she’s getting slower every year). Oh, and - took out her age group. An honour to witness!
2) Our half marathon specialist at - on a difficult, hilly course, took a full 16 minutes off. Kimm had set herself what she thought was a challenging goal of going under 2:15 for the first time. And then the hills were added in. And the trail. And then she showed up, and smashed it in 2:11.
1) And how could any list be complete without dominating ? In impossible conditions the previous year Tom had a brutal late in the game DNF, and he was out for revenge. And revenge he got, taking a savage 2hrs 40mins off his 100k time. Phenomenal.
To all in Team LFS, I am so so proud of you. Let’s make 2026 even better 💪🙌
