2023

2023 was a pretty good running year in several ways. Here are a few of them.

Overall miles: 3,152 miles for the year. That's an average of 60 miles per week and 8.6 per day. Compared with other years, it's a fair amount. My average pace was (a very pedestrian) 5.2 miles per hour which is 11.5 minutes per mile. It's the same as last year. When added to my previous total, it yields a total life-to-date amount of 114,344 miles.

Non-Marathon Races: The best was probably the Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon where I ran 1:52. I ran one half-marathon in 2022 that was slightly faster. I also did a smattering of shorter races, none of which were outstanding. I've said it before, but I'll repeat it here: I need to do more races of the shorter variety.

Trail Runs: No, I'm not joking, and don't call me Shirley. Run with Scissors was a complete disaster. So much so, that I wrote a separate ditty about thick mud and trails. The Buckeye Woods 25K was better, if you can call that a trail run. It is to me.

Marathons: Tallahassee and Drake Well both went about as well as I could have expected, and the times were identical: 3:55. Cleveland's time of 4:12 was not so good, but also not unexpected. Brunswick was Similarly slow (4:13) but also not out of line with expectations.

Unique Experiences: One was my run with Jenny Hoffman during her record-breaking run across America. It was quite an honor to accompany her. Another was my run at the Grafton Correctional Institution. That was not only an honor, but also an experience that I'll never forget.

Most Memorable of All: My best and probably most lasting memory of 2023 was the near-daily running with my friends throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Those runs were as gratifying and enjoyable as runs can be. Best of all was having all my friends achieve their goals at top race events.

My Goal for 2024: Run a lot.