It’s that time of year again. 2025 was a crazy, busy year with a lot of travel, work, and running. Now that I have been running seriously for almost three years, I think it’s time to share my journey and experiences. And just for fun, I will throw in some hiking adventures I did this year.

Half Marathon Personal Best #

I started the year with the goal of getting a Personal Best (PB) in the half-marathon distance. I trained seriously from the end of Dec 2024 until the half-marathon in Paris on March 9th, 2025. I was able to get a PB of 1:28:49, which was a 14:20 improvement from my previous best of 1:43:09 at the half-marathon of Marrakech early this year.

Marathon of Stockholm #

I did not have a goal for the marathon of Stockholm; I wanted to play it safe and just finish it since this was my first marathon in ten years or so. Also, 42 kms is a lot for your body to endure. If someone tells you that a full marathon is just two half-marathons back to back, don’t believe them! I finished it in 3:40:56.

Kilimanjaro #

June was probably one of the most memorable months of 2025 for me. I went to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It was a grueling experience: 7 days of walking and 60 kms total distance with an elevation gain of 5000 meters. But it was also one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and a must-do hike for any outdoor enthusiast.

Half Marathon of Stockholm #

Back home to Stockholm where I ran the half-marathon of Stockholm on August 30th. No goal again for a specific time; I just wanted to enjoy the run and explore Stockholm on foot in parts which are usually used by cars. I finished it in 1:36:03.

Toubkal, Morocco. One-day hike #

The weekend before my birthday (September 14th, 2025), I summited Toubkal in Morocco with some friends in one day. Typically, people summit this mountain in two steps, sleeping at ~3100 meters before pushing to the top on the next day. But we did not want to do that, and a one-day hike sounded like a fun challenge. We started at 2 am and we were back down to our sleeping spot by 6 pm. Ten hours of moving and 30 kms later with 2000 meters of elevation gain.

Marathon of New York City #

I have an objective to run all World Marathon Majors. New York City was my debut into this challenge. I was lucky to get in with the lottery and run this beautiful race across the five boroughs of NYC. The vibe was immersive and the atmosphere was electric. I finished it in 4:17:29.

Last Race of the year #

On my last trip of the year, a friend signed me up for what was supposed to be a 10 km race, which became a half-marathon. It was a small race near Casablanca in the city of Dar-Bouzzara. Pretty nice, well organized, and an enjoyable run by the seaside. Since this was unanticipated, I took it easy and finished it in 1:48:04.

What’s next? #

2026 will also be a year of exploring this sport further. Maybe run a few trails and try to get a new PB in the half-marathon distance. I managed to get into the Sydney Marathon in Australia which is one of the newly joined World Marathon Majors. I will run it at the end of August 2026.

You can follow my adventures with running on Instagram and Strava. And DM me on IG if you have any questions about my training schedule or you just want to chat about this.

Happy belated New Year and Happy Running!