I have kept doing these over the years for a few reasons
- I have been big on visual planing for a long time (Sasco in the UK, Big Ass Calendar in the US) and it’s important to look back and see if made the most of the last year and helps plan the next one
- Sometimes a year can seem great or shit in how it ends, but it’s important to sit back and look at the whole 12 months to get a good feel for how it went
- I set goals each year and since I hit my last big life goal of living/moving to the US, I have set myself some other smaller bucket list type goals. I like to review if have made any progress on them year on year
It was this process that really made me realise pre-Green card that it was taking over my life. I remember looking back at the year and realising, my gross impatience for the Green Card, the thing that would keep me in the country I want to be in, was actually impacting me enjoying my time in said country.
So 2025 was my first full year with the Green Card so no looming deportation concerns should anything happen with the job. It made a massive difference, not checking the app 50 times per day and just being way more at ease.
January
All through the first part of 2025 was the most consistent and highest mileage I had ever done. The training was with Bolder Boulder 10km in May and CIM (marathon) in December in mind.
As so often in January, my year kicked of with hockey. I spent some time in Utah and Eric, Joe and I along with the BoA watched the Isles against the newly relocated (and named) Utah Mammoth from sky boxes with the Blue & Orange Army.
Eric & Joe headed back to Colorado but I went onto my annual pilgrimage to New York for some hockey. As well as hockey, this trip was extra good as I did some running with the New York Harriers, our brother/sister running club. The only problem with going to NYC so close to me getting the green card was that I yet again had the taste to move there and try it. *Spoiler* it took me about 4 months to shake this off and realise that I am past that age/time in life where I’d be happy to spend such a high amount on rent for a studio.
Only saw 1 win out of 3 for the trip but always great to be back @ UBS Arena.
Sens 2 Isles 0
Flyers 5 – Isles 3
Sharks 1 – Isles 4
February
February is usually a good month as it’s work bonus month. Kicked it off with a Nuggets game and a good win against the Trail Blazers 132 / 121. I also made a weekend trip to Utah to visit Arches National Park, wanted to ticket off some national parks out of state and Arches didn’t disappoint.
Finished the month off with an Isles Colorado Meetup and got ready for my new country for the year – Jamaica holiday.
March
Jamaica was an amazing break! Everybody knows I am not a huge fan of the all inclusive type holiday but I really needed one and wanted to tick off a new country. Jamaica was great and the hotel was amazing, perfect way to chill out.
When I got back it was time to start hitting some races after all the miles I have been putting in. First up was Central Park 5k and a very respectable 19:29 for the first race of the season.
Hit up another Nuggets game when got back in March and Nuggets are heading to the playoffs.
April
April saw me head out for one of my target races, all the way to Carlsbad, California. I was absolutely buzzing with this 5k, I came in at 18:46 – a big PB.
Flew out to Anaheim for a work conference at Disney which was cool and trying to keep up the training for the upcoming track meets and Bolder Boulder 10k.
First Track meet went amazingly well but came 32s short of my target – hitting the 1500m in 5:00.32 and coming 2nd in my heat.
Went to my first ever NBA playoff game and it was epic, whole different ball game to the regular season – Nuggets with a big W!
For Track Meet 2 I smashed my sub 5 in the 1500m – 4:55.99.
With the PB’s rolling in I treated myself to a grill for the balcony to get some protein going for lunches.
May
Another Nuggets playoff round and game kicked off May and then it was onto the Frank Shorter 1 Miler – PBing 5:22.29 but I would have liked 5:15 my target.
Then it was onto the Colfax 10 miler, one of my favourite races where I smashed another PB 1:07:16
All was preparation for BB10k, this one definitely did not go to plan. I couldn’t have been more ready but I made the mistake of running with this group and it was over right from the start as they started too slow then had to catch up time, it totally threw me. I still ended up with a PB but not the sub 40 I wanted. 40:50
Ended the month with lots of state park visits including Barr State Park and lots of bike rides out on Mango magic.
June
June was a monumental month with endless travelling. Before I headed over the pond I went to Red Rocks to see the epic, legendary film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
First up on my UK trip was to spend some time in London with Lee, some good pub grub and long awaited cider.
Next up heading to Norfolk for the christening of my 4th Godson Roen. It was a great day all-round and a big honour to be Godfather to the 4th child in the Bowling family.
Next up was Wales to spend some time with the family, some nice mountain walks and some time with my niece and nephew.
Then it was onto London again for a weekender with my old uni friends, was an epic day out and catch-up with the crew. After that it was back to Wales AGAIN and got to catch up with the boys from back home with a meal and a few drinks.
Then it was back on the road to Reading area for Alex and Ellie’s wedding which was an epic day but I was very rough at the end of it. In the pub hotel I was in, I for some reason left my room in the middle of the night in my boxer shorts and the lock was Yale, with no staff around I had to sleep in the corridor in my boxers until the cleaner came in early morning – total nightmare! Still, that couldn’t take the shine off a great day and night with Alex, Ellie and friends.
As I was in the airport hotel ready to go back after a long trip home in the UK, I realised I had lost my Green Card – total disaster. Thankfully Joe came to the rescue and got my keys and found my card. We were video calling and he flashed a card in my drawer and I was so relieved, he then sent it via courier. I woke up in the middle of the night realising the card he showed me was NOT my green card but my work authorisation. Joe kindly went back again the next day searching for the card with no luck, just as he was about to leave he checked one more time and it was there – thankfully Fedex hadn’t sent the last one so just swapped out the cards. So I ended up staying in London more time than I expected but at least I didn’t have to go through the disaster of paying for an temporary one from the embassy.
July
Independence Day is always good fun in the US with the monumental firework displays and this was my first in Arvada and it did not disappoint.
July was all about ticking a big bucket list item of though, Tomorrowland. I flew to Brussels via somewhere in the US, I forget, but my flight out was mega delayed and I was convinced I was going to miss my connection to Brussels. Thankfully, and with a bit of airport jogging, I managed to catch it and get to Brussels on the Wednesday in time for supplies shopping and a few pre-tomorrowland drinks with Simon, Sam and co.
The few drinks did not quite transpire, after a few quiet ones with Simon and Sam we ended up in a bar we are at when went to Anderlecht Away. There were some lads there who were inter-railing and quite frankly they looked bored and boring. So we got them on the Jagers and karaoke with us and they were saying how was best night of their trip so far etc. Problem was they were keeping up on the Jager front all night and by this time Simon and Sam had long gone home, but we kept going.
At the end of the night, when they hit the fresh air they all turned into 28 days later, they were completely ruined, chundering zombies. Anyway, whilst they were all spread out all over the canvas, I was an idiot and some guy approached them seeming concerned. As he was walking away one of them said he’d stolen their phone. In my infinite Jager filled wisdom, I thought I am a runner, I can get this guy so I started sprinting after him on the cobbles. Unfortunately, I decked it on the cobbles obliterating my arms, legs in cuts and busted my toe and knee.
The next day, very bloody and worse for wear we headed to Boom, Belgium for Tomorrowland. I was in agony, cut to pieces and then finding out my tent package was the smallest tent ever known to man and it wasn’t very waterproof either (had rain on the Thursday). Despite being cut, injured, bruised, battered and wet for the whole weekend it was still one of the best weekends ever. Epic people, epic music and an incredible festival. I haven’t even remembered to mention that only just over a week before the main stage which Tomorrowland is famous for, completely burnt down, I was convinced it was not even going to go ahead. Before arriving I was a bit sad because I thought I was not getting the full experience but given the unreal turnaround by the festival and seeing the burnt out structure it turned out to be one of those ‘I was there’ moments. There is no question, I will be back in 2026. Highlights were Skytech, Shapov, Garrix, Hardwell, Armin and Omdat Het Kan (something you will not see everyday).
August/September
Absolutely love Colorado in the summer and it was a great month. I went to Boom Days, Leadville and saw… wait for it… a marathon (up like 10,000 ft elevation and terrible terrain) where a runner runs with a donkey! It was epic to watch. I love all the old western stuff, so I love finding gems like this in old western towns like Leadville.
I really hit the Broncos big time this season, started in August with pre-season and when the parents were here we also went to the season opener – W’s for the Broncos in both!
With my company we did a day of service volunteering in the urban garden downtown Denver.
Then it was time for my folks to come for their customary month in Colorado. I always do an out of state and in-state trip during that month with them and this time we did Wyoming to go to some honky Tonks and visit the incredible Bison ranch. For the in-state stay we headed to Breckenridge. As usual we had a great time with many laughs, copious drinks, lots of pool, and trips to old towns.
This trip was extra special though because we also headed to Canada to visit family. I have visited before but my folks have always wanted to visit and we all finally made it happen and it was very worth it. My folks and I spent a few days in Toronto first to go to Niagara Falls and as a treat for my Dad I got us tickets to see James his favourite band in Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto.
Then it was onto Cobourg to stay with family. It was like we had stayed there 100 times before, we were super welcomed and comfortable enjoying the amazing weather. After a few walking days in Toronto we had lots of drinks out on the decking, long chats and great food. We visited the beach there a couple of the times which was beautiful too and all went to the local restaurant for a great meal to top off a great trip. We were made to feel so welcome and it was an unforgettable time. It certainly won’t be the last!
October
By October the knee had gone from bad to worse with the knee seemingly dislocating (I later found out it’s actually locking with the broken, flapping meniscus getting caught in the joint). I got both knees MRI’d and found out as suspected that one ACL rupture and a serious handlebar meniscus tear. I had not run since mid-August so was getting frustrating, so now just wanted it fixed ASAP so I could recover over winter. Thankfully, when I met the surgeon he was football mad and saw my tattoo and talked for 35 mins about football before he even looked at the knee…. he agreed to sneak me in under emergency case 🙂
More Broncos action in October with two more home games and Broncos on an absolute rampage. When I moved in 2021 I didn’t think I had room in my life for any teams other than The Arsenal (football) and Islanders (hockey) but I am in so deep with Broncos and Nuggets now.
I also started DJ school in October after getting decks and the full set-up, the intro course was fun and post knee recovery I want to get on with the latter courses to progress.
With not being able to run and the knee was in bits, it was great timing for Ben to visit Colorado. Had an epic time visiting some Colorado old towns, hiking up Rocky Mountain National Park, seeing the Broncos stuff the cowboys, seeing the Nuggets win, enjoying the Colorado pubs (including a rough night in Cheapskates) and of course the main event – 2 absolutely epic Martin Garrix Red Rocks shows. Had a great time and was sad to see Ben go.
November
I squeezed in Broncos Raiders @ Empower (another Broncos Win) before getting my surgery which would dominate the rest of my year. Surgery went well but the brace (especially sleeping) was a pickle. Still, cannot complain as was night and day compared to the other in 2008.
December
December was still very much recovery month given was in the brace for most of December. The non-activity and boredom was getting grim but I knew the sacrifice was for 2026. It was particularly tough given it meant being around on my own for Crimbo.
I managed to get to the Kill Bill Whole Bloody Affair, where I finally got to see my favourite film as 1 piece the way it was meant to be. Some cool additional material in there too which made it even better.
I struggled along to a work event in downtown Denver and was exhausting hobbling in the brace and having company for a whole day!
Thankfully the brace came off a week before Christmas and I decided to head to the Broncos Jaguars game as I had missed 2 home games since surgery. Broncos lost this one and it was too soon as my knee was properly uncomfortable in those seats for that length of time.
I did treat myself to a new motor as well as many other things. When I am feeling sorry for myself I spend $$$ and November/December were very expensive months!
Got some good news on Christmas even with 2 of my best friends (and my 4 Godsons) having their 5th child a lovely little girl Aubrie.
Christmas and New Year was rough, no point in pretending, cannot run so no clubs, cannot really do much and on my todd at home. Still, soon as it was over I am so motivated to get this rehab done and have a monumental 2026.
2026
2026 is already shaping up to be an epic year with trips to Long Beach, my annual NYC, India for work, Hockey trip to Canada, Ultra Miami, Tomorrowland, Nashville, Dreamstate all in the diary already. I have set myself a lot of small goals for 2026 too, here are some below. Since I hit the last big life goal I had with the US move and green card, I have some more longer term ones but nothing major these days – more bucket lists now than big life achievement type things. Those can be keep private though so for now you get the small rocks below.
Goals for next year
Some of my goals for next year. As I said I am pretty sold on the Jesse Itzler Big Ass Calendar approach now.
- Rehab the knee and get back running. Racing won’t be possible so no time chasing in 2026 but just get back to clubs ASAP!
- I have some financial goals set myself since meeting last years
- 3 new hockey pucks – which means seeing the Islanders on the road against 3 teams not seen before (in 3 arenas not been to before)
- With my international travel slowed, I still need to hit at least 1 new country a year
- Whilst I want to get back to running, the ACL reconstruction means other things should be open to me now, I want to give pickleball a whirl
- I need to pick my welsh learning back up and dedicate some time to it
- I want to work on this website and include my mixes from my DJing too
- Speaking of DJing I want to do DJing 202 course in 2026
- Kevin’s Law (Jesse Itzler) meaning spend a weekend every 2 months doing something you’d never have done before
Looking back at 2025 Goals
- Body fat % – Reduce by a further 2%
- I did hit this but since surgery that has definitely gone back!
- Achieve Running Goals
- 1000 Miles – Done
- Sub 40 10K – Missed by 50s
- Sub 19 5K – Done
- Sub 5:15 Mile – Missed by few seconds
- Sub 5 1500m – Done
- PB in the 10 Mile (Sub 1:09) – Done by 2 mins
- 3 New Countries
- 1/3
- 3 new NHL arenas to the see the Isles
- 2/3
- For parents 2025 visit – New York and visit family in Canada
- We did Canada but decided against NYC
- Figure out where I want to be come August (lease up), Colorado? Other State or internal CO move?
- Return to Office in January 2026 means Colorado is a longer haul now. I extended Olde Town Arvada lease
- Do more other than just running and work
- Didn’t really push this enough but I did attend all Broncos home games when not post-surgery
- Ticked off Kevin’s law with Boom Days, festivals never been to, Utah Arches National Park
