The Run Within 20: Siquijor Run— Comeback seasons are not always pretty. And that is exactly the point.

A few months ago I raced my first event back in Hamilton Island. An ankle that was nowhere near 100 percent, 20 months away from racing and a start line I had been dreaming about for longer than I care to admit. I crossed that finish line and felt something shift. Not just physically. Something deeper. A reminder of who I am and what I am building back toward.

Two weeks ago I raced again.

Race two of my comeback season.

And this one was not part of any plan.

I had extended my stay in the Philippines, landed on the island of Siquijor and somehow found myself signing up for a road half marathon. Because that is just who I am. Put me near a race and Voice Two starts making decisions before voice one even has time to object.

The race started at 3am. It was already 28 degrees. I fuelled on sour worms and Coke instead of my usual gels and Tailwind because that is what was available and sometimes you just need to adapt and get on with it. My gut had some thoughts about that decision throughout the race. Fairly colourful thoughts. But we got through it together. 😂

It was hard from the very first step to the very last. The heat. The humidity. The fact that my body is still finding its rhythm again after everything it has been through. None of that was ideal. But here is the thing about comeback seasons. They are not supposed to be ideal. They are supposed to be honest. And this one was as honest as it gets.

I finished 14th out of 539 runners. A whole 19 minutes off my personal best half marathon time. And I could not have been happier.

Not because of the placing.

Not because of the time.

But because of what I felt in that race.

The Zumba warm up before the start that had me genuinely laughing. The Filipinos around me absolutely loving their running, giving everything, bringing the kind of energy and community spirit that reminds you exactly why this sport is so special. The experience of sharing a start line in a country I had never expected to race in, with people I had never met, doing the thing I love most in the world.

That is what running gives you when you let it. Not just fitness. Not just results. Joy. Pure, unscripted, unexpected joy.

But the biggest win of the whole race had nothing to do with the time on the clock or the place in the results. My foot pulled up well. Really well. And for anyone who has followed my journey and knows what my foot has been through since my run around Australia, you will understand what that means to me. Racing on the road was by far the biggest test I have put my foot through since the big lap. And it passed.

That gives me enormous confidence going into the next training block. We keep building.

And this is the part I want every leader and every person reading this to hear. Because it connects directly to everything I talk about in my keynote, The Run Within.

Comeback seasons are uncomfortable by design. They are the season where you are not yet back to your best. Where the gap between where you are and where you want to be is at its most visible. Where Voice One has plenty of material to work with. You are slower than you used to be. You are not where you should be. Is this really worth it?

But comeback seasons are also where the deepest growth happens. Because they require something that peak performance does not always demand. They require you to show up without the guarantee of a great result. To find joy in the process before the process has rewarded you yet. To trust that the work you are doing right now is building something that will matter later, even when the evidence is not fully there yet.

That is Voice Two at its most courageous. Not the voice that wins the race. The voice that gets you to the start line when it would be so much easier to wait until you are ready, or until you are back at your best.

I am not back to my best yet. Not even close. But I am back. I am racing. I am building. And I am doing it with more gratitude and more joy than I have felt in a long time.

So here is what I want to leave you with this week. Whether you are in a comeback season in your running, your business, your leadership, or your life, the goal right now is not to be perfect. The goal is to take the next step anyway, adapt, find the joy in the process and trust that every honest effort moves you in the right direction.

Sour worms, coke, 3am start, 28 degrees and all. We keep building.

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