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With my year without beer more than 90 percent done, I marked it with an alcohol free cocktail at the top of a Chicago skyscraper.

A training run through a Chicago park ahead of the Grim, plus a fresh green vegetable juice that kept me running thousands of miles from home.

My first ever Thanksgiving, spent with colleagues in Chicago, stayed alcohol free even with shots and red wine flowing, and ended with a car accident that left nobody hurt.

A surprise upgrade to business class with British Airways meant turning down free champagne and wine, all in the name of my year without beer.

At a work conference full of free bars and free wine, I went through the whole thing without a single alcoholic drink, and noticed the difference the next morning.

Less than five months after I started running, unable to manage a single mile, I was on track to pass my target of 500 miles that weekend.

With ten months of my year without beer done, I also passed 90 percent of my challenge to run 500 miles by the end of the year.

Ten months into my year without beer, I looked at why cutting back on alcohol matters and how my running challenge was progressing alongside it.

Four months after my first training run nearly finished me off, I ran the Great South Run in 1 hour 23 minutes, finishing 3,985th out of 25,000.

On my fifth wedding anniversary, I didn’t drink a drop for the first time ever, looking back at old photos and wishing I’d sorted my health sooner.

With the year over 80% done, there are just 66 days left until I get to spend Christmas completely alcohol free, as my running challenge continues.

After the funeral for an aunt who meant a lot to my family, I wrote about my year without beer and the races ahead, the Great South Run and The Grim Original.