Permission to Walk: Reframing Success at the Kusam Klimb

We like to imagine success as a fixed point — a finish line, a number on the clock. But some of the best days come from the version of success you reframe along the way. I had to reframe success for this year's Kusam Klimb, and it turned into a fantastic day on the trail.

I've been training for the Kusam Klimb since January, a 25km mountain race with 1600m of elevation. It wasn't a clean build: a twisted ankle cost me four weeks, plantar fascia tightness has been my companion since May, and then, days before the race, a backpacking trip I'd meant as a gentle taper left my IT bands flared and aching. The race I'd trained for suddenly felt out of reach.

So I gave myself permission to change what success would mean. My goal was never to win — I'm in a quieter, less competitive chapter right now, and that's allowed. I wanted to run the whole way and wake up the next day still feeling like myself. The road sections at the start and finish are pavement I rarely train on, hard on a flared-up leg, so I let myself plan to walk them — and in return, I'd run the trail as well as I possibly could.

And then I got one of those days you train all year for.

I saw friends everywhere and made a few new friends along the way. My highlight came right at the top, after the big climb, when so many legs around me were completely toasted, and mine still had something left. Every long run this season had started with the grind up Tzouhalem, and it paid off: I had the legs to run while others walked, and I put real distance into the pack I'd climbed with. I felt pretty proud of myself in that moment.

The rest came together in the best possible way. My fuelling and hydration were dialled. I ran the downhill trail and the service roads well, and when I popped out onto that last stretch of pavement, I felt fantastic — and then, just as I'd planned, I walked it in. My quads were already cooked from the fast descents, and walking those final metres wasn't giving anything up. It was keeping the promise I'd made myself.

My quads were sore for a few days. My IT bands survived. I finished uninjured and happy — and today I'm already back out the door, building toward the next goal.

That's the gift of reframing success! If your own plans have shifted lately, I hope you'll let success be the version that fits the chapter you're in right now — and then go chase your next big goal.