#10 - Dry January? Nope. Tryanuary

I’ve never really understood Dry January.

Of all the months to voluntarily remove alcohol from your life, surely January is the least appealing candidate. Christmas is over, the decorations have come down, the weather is grey, the days are short and the bank account is recovering from festive abuse. If there’s ever a month that seems to cry out for a decent pint in front of the fire, it’s January.

What exactly are people doing to themselves over Christmas that requires a month-long period of abstinence afterwards?

Personally, I much prefer the growing trend towards Tryanuary.

Rather than giving something up, why not try something new?

For me, naturally, that means beer.

Enter Brewser

With that in mind, I decided to restart my Brewser subscription.

For those unfamiliar with it, Brewser is a subscription service that partners with some of the UK's best independent breweries. Each month you can select a brewery from a curated list—or simply skip a month if nothing takes your fancy—and receive a fresh selection assembled by the brewery itself.

It's a brilliant concept because it encourages exploration. Instead of automatically reaching for the same familiar names, you're nudged towards breweries you might otherwise overlook.

My January choice was Baron.

If you've not come across them before, Baron is essentially a one-person operation producing beers that consistently punch well above their weight. I've had a number of their beers previously and every single one has impressed me. There's something deeply satisfying about discovering a small brewery quietly going about its business and producing genuinely excellent beer without the fanfare of some of the larger names.

As an added bonus, their beers come in 500ml cans, which somehow feels reassuringly old-school in an age where can sizes seem to be shrinking faster than marathon runners after a summer training block.

Going Low and No

I've also found myself cautiously dipping a toe into the low-and-no movement that has swept through the craft beer world.

A few years ago the category was largely an afterthought. Now it feels like every brewery worth its malt is investing serious effort into producing alcohol-free or low-ABV alternatives that people might actually choose to drink rather than merely tolerate.

After enjoying some hop water from Siren, I decided to order a larger selection, including several low-ABV beers.

Apparently, the fashionable approach is what's known as "zebra-striping"—alternating low or no-alcohol drinks with their stronger counterparts throughout a session.

Whether that's an excellent health strategy or simply a way of extending a brewery visit remains unclear, but I'm prepared to conduct extensive scientific research into the matter.

Purely for educational purposes, obviously.

Running in a Freezer

On the running front, winter has finally remembered that it's supposed to be winter.

Last Saturday's scheduled 20-mile trail run began under absolutely stunning conditions. Cold, certainly, but one of those crisp winter mornings where everything looks spectacular and you briefly forget that your toes have lost all sensation.

Unfortunately, nature then decided to turn the difficulty setting up a notch.

Within a few miles I found myself running through freezing fog.

The trails looked incredible. Every branch, gate and hedgerow was coated in frost, transforming the landscape into something resembling a Christmas card. The footing was icy, the puddles frozen and the air cold enough to make every breath feel significant.

By mile four I had ice forming on my jacket.

By mile eight I had to stop and physically clear ice from my eyelashes.

That felt like a new achievement unlocked.

Despite the conditions, it was a fantastic run and exactly the kind of adventure that makes winter trail running so rewarding. Tomorrow's route will be a slight variation on the same run, although with the recent weather I'm expecting considerably more mud and significantly less glamour.

Ultra Disappointment

The biggest disappointment of the month came when I finally received confirmation that my planned 40-mile ultra at the end of January had been cancelled and postponed until next year.

That was a frustrating blow.

The race was intended to serve as a key training event ahead of April's main target: The Rose of the Shires 54-mile ultra.

Having a long supported event in the calendar was going to be ideal preparation, both physically and mentally.

Still, ultrarunners are a resourceful bunch, and where there's a cancelled race there's usually an ill-advised alternative waiting to be discovered.

An Alternative Plan

Thankfully, my regular drinking companion—the same man largely responsible for my running addiction in the first place—immediately volunteered his services as crew.

That got me thinking.

Rather than mourning the cancelled event, why not create my own?

The current idea is a route from home towards Ludlow, covering at least 50 kilometres and potentially a fair bit more depending on route choices and my ability to navigate without accidentally adding several bonus miles.

The beauty of the plan is that it ends in Ludlow.

And anything that ends in Ludlow is usually a good idea.

Why Ludlow?

A few years ago, shortly after lockdown, my mate decided that reaching the age of fifty without ever having been camping represented a significant gap in his life experience.

His wife and daughters had absolutely no interest in correcting this oversight, so naturally I was drafted in.

Having spent years enthusiastically promoting Ludlow as one of my favourite towns in the country, it seemed the obvious destination.

We spent a brilliant few days there.

There was camping. There was a superb walk through the Shropshire countryside. There was a hotel stay on the second night to celebrate my birthday and restore some dignity after sleeping in a tent.

Most importantly, there was a visit to Ludlow Brewery.

That remains the memory that has firmly lodged itself in my mate's mind.

Excellent beer, a great setting and exactly the sort of place you find yourself planning to revisit before you've even left.

So the idea of running all the way there and rewarding myself with a beer afterwards has a certain logic to it.

Well, ultrarunner logic at least.

The only caveat is the weather. An end-of-January adventure can very easily become an exercise in surviving horizontal rain, freezing temperatures and ankle-deep mud.

Still, that's a problem for future me.

Current me thinks it sounds like a brilliant idea.