November and December: the autumn marathon season has come to a close and it’s the time of year when runners look back on the past year and start getting an itchy trigger finger on race entry websites. I’ve already entered two races for 2015, so I say this with my feet on both sides of the fence: THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!

At some point, we’ve all been caught up in the hype of a big race and gotten swept along into signing up for something a year in advance through fear of missing out. But missing out on a particular race doesn’t have to mean missing out on experiences.

The London to Brighton cycle ride is very popular. A little too popular if you ask me; there’s simply too many people on bikes trying to make their way south from London on the same weekend for the event to appeal to me. But I DID want to cycle to Brighton. So this year, along with just four other lovely women on bikes, I did just that.

This summer, after failing to finish Ironman UK, I did the same distance (3.8km swim, 112 mile cycle, 26.2 mile run) outside of a race and had a lot of fun along the way. Instead of signing up to a multi-day ultra, me and Katie invented our own by running a marathon in two different countries on the same weekend and named it SnowDublin.

Next summer I’d like to run 50 miles with my friend Katie. Getting two people’s schedule aligned with a race that appeals is tricky, and so, if she’s up for it, maybe we’ll run part of the way from my house to her house, or along a national trail or anywhere that fancy takes us, on a day that works, or just when the sun is out and it looks like a good day for running.

Races are great. I love races. But they’re not the only way. When you’re looking for an adventure, don’t just look at race listings. Choose your own adventure.