2013 Running And Racing Year Recap

To celebrate this last day of 2013, I’ve put together the year in pictures…

Unfortunately, I’m not starting off very well since didn’t start blogging until January 31st, and until then didn’t feel the need to photograph every moment of my life.  Believe it or not, I have no running pictures from January!

On this particular Saturday morning in February, only Cruiser Chicks Kim, Amanda, Beth, and I showed up for our long run.  This gave us ample opportunity to scheme about a Cruisers Chicks Cruise!  Currently it’s scheduled for spring 2015.  Who’s joining us?

March brought our Annual Easter Bunny Hop; and yes, Beth and I look adorable ridiculous in our bunny ears, but we had to dress appropriately to hand out Easter treats of chocolate milk, Sports Beans, and Shot Bloks!

In April, Bill and I ran the 3.2-Mile Run In Remembrance on the Virginia Tech campus with Kelly, Becky, and Julie; and I got to meet and run with Meagan for the first of three runs in 2013!

The GW Parkway Classic Ten-Miler is a Cruisers favorite; and late April found Bill, Beth, Lolly, Kim, Amanda, and me at the starting line!

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month so appropriately, Jessica, Lolly and I ran in the TKO Melanoma 5K, a race close to my heart…

Crusiers Kim, Bill, Julie, Joseph,Janet, Joe, Vamshi, Amit, and I ran in the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon on a hot and humid day in June.  One or two of us may have landed in the medical tent after the race…

Cruisers Joe, Terri, Vamshi, Chuck, Amanda, Bill, Alan, and I met for a special mid-week run in early June to celebrate National Running Day!

Also in June, MilesRun Group from Maryland brought their annual event called Miles Pancake Run to Virginia. My friend Rich surprised us with a sign!

Joseph, Julie, Bill, and I decided at the last minute to sign up for the Firecracker 5K  on July 4th.  Cruiser Kim ran the race, too, but we didn’t see her until after the race.

Also in July, the Cruisers hosted the Cruisers’ W&OD 45-Mile Ultramarathon and welcomed Joseph to the ranks of ultramarathoner!  Various Cruisers staged themselves along the trail so Joseph would have a running buddy the entire length of his run.  Beth, Julie, Bill, and I ran him in to the finish line.

August took us to Virginia Beach for a wedding and Bill, Julie and I started the morning with a 12-mile training run on the boardwalk early that morning.

The race I’d waited all summer for, the Hokie Half Marathon, finally arrived in September; and it was as much fun as I’d anticipated!  I ran it with Bill, Julie, Meagan, and Cassy.

October found me out of town for half of the month visiting my sick dad, and then supporting my mom after his sudden and unexpected death.  Bill and I found time to steal away and run the difficult trail at Molly’s Knob to clear our heads.  The one positive that came out of that time was falling in love with trail running.

Early November brought our first frosty run and despite the cold morning, we had a great Cruiser turnout.  Bob, Vamshi, Jerome, Amanda, Chuck, Bill, and I propped up my camera to get this group shot.

On Thanksgiving morning we ran in the annual Ashburn Farm Thanksgiving Day 5K and 10K.  It was hilarious watching Daniel chase Julie while shouting, “Come back here turkey, I just want to talk!”

Our December Run With Santa 5K couldn’t have been more perfect because it started snowing hard just before the race started!  Despite several Cruisers signing up for the event, the snow (and work) kept everyone away except Chuck and me.

Happy New Year!

•  Questions:
• How many races did you run in 2013?
• Have you finalized your fitness goals for 2014? ~ I’m finalizing mine
  
• What are your plans for tonight?