Anyone who has spent time with me on the road this year—or in the comments on Strava—has probably heard me curse this ridiculous distance goal of mine. My coach, Michelle, has probably rolled her eyes at me for complaining about it more than once.

In 2024, I ran 2,500 km. My goal was 2,400 km, but I managed it well and exceeded it by 100 km. When Michelle and I had our recap and planning meeting at the end of last year, we decided to aim for 2,600 km in 2025. Even then, it felt like a heavy goal—something I told Michelle right from day one.

Three months into the year, and I am just hanging on to this goal—barely! It’s a massive challenge. The problem is simple: Last year, I knew I could relax because marathon training would automatically increase my mileage. But since I’m focusing on shorter distances this year, there’s no marathon training. My next marathon is only in early 2026. That means I have to stay consistent throughout the year, or I risk falling behind to the point where the goal becomes unreachable.

Yet, while lamenting this goal again the other day, I admitted something else: if it weren’t for this target, many of my runs wouldn’t have happened. I’ve found myself sneaking in an extra two kilometers after a track session, adding a few hill repeats after an easy run, or heading out for a short Sunday afternoon jog to make up some mileage. And despite the reluctance—and the occasional cursing—this extra running has served me well. It turns out I do better with more running, not less.

This got me thinking about goals and the importance of setting challenging ones. What’s the point of a goal that’s too easy to reach? If you can achieve it effortlessly, why set it in the first place? You might not always love the goal, but you should love the results. And I can’t imagine much satisfaction in tracking progress and hitting a goal that requires little effort.

That realisation hit again when Michelle suggested increasing my Interval, Repetition, and Fast Repetition paces just over a week ago. At first, I resisted. It had taken me nearly a year to hit those paces consistently, and I liked going back to Garmin and TrainingPeaks after a track session to see that I had nailed them. It made me happy. But when she pointed out that I was hitting them every time and they were no longer a challenge, I realised the excitement of reaching them had indeed faded. So, I agreed to the change. Now I have new, tougher paces—ones I’m barely hitting yet. But the day I do will feel incredible. Just like eventually reaching 2,600 km this year will.

What is your attitude towards setting goals?