How it Began

One evening over dinner, Julie, my oldest son’s girlfriend (now wife) had me enthralled as she talked about a running blog she followed. Intrigued, I asked questions and knew immediately that I wanted to start a blog of my own. I had recapped a few of my races on Facebook notes and thought how fun it would be to have my own space just for talking about all things running and fitness.

It took me about two seconds to come up with Deb Runs as my blog name, the name that had once been on the vanity plates on my car. I used a picture of those expired plates for the banner on my blog until a year or so later when Bill stitched together the pictures that I’m currently using.

 

With a little help from my husband and son, Deb Runs became a reality, and about two weeks later, I published my first post, a painful and rather sad request to “stay tuned.” As I diligently wrote posts, I added tabs to organize my topics. Articles on how to improve running and racing were placed under my Coaching tab, healthy recipes and tips for weight loss were placed under my Weight Management tab, and posts hoping to help my readers learn from my sun-worshiping mistakes were placed under my Skin Cancer tab. Other tabs were added over time and can also be found near the top of page, just under the blog banner.

 

A Few Stats from the Past Six Years

Just for fun I compiled a few stats from my 2,191 days of blogging. Deb Runs has shared…

1,208 Blog Posts
57 Race Recaps
43 Throwback Race Recaps
14 Giveaways
2 Now Defunct Linkups

 

My most popular post to date was What It’s Really Like to be a Hokie which got 1,784  views and had nothing to do with running!

The post that gets several hits every single day is My Favorite Walked Into A Bar Jokes Are Corny, Hilarious, And Even Educational. It’s an evolving post where I occasionally add jokes as I come up with new ones or a friend sends a new one my way.

 

How Much Has Deb Run Since Deb Runs Started

During the past six years, I’ve run in quite a few races. Here’s the rundown…

30 5K’s
1 8K
3 10K’s
4 10-Milers
3 20K’s
10 Half Marathons
5 Ragnar Relays

1 25K
57 Total Races
4 Trail Races/53 Road Races
1 1st-Place Overall Female Master Winner

17 Age Group Wins
6 Age Group Second Place Finishes
7 Age Group Third Place Finishes

1 Half PR
1 20K PR

 

What Blogging Has Given Me

Through blogging I’ve made many new friends, both in real life and virtually. I met some of those virtual friends in real life at planned meetups at races or training runs, and I’ve even randomly met people at races who recognize me from the blog.

Believe it or not, Deb Runs holds me accountable. On days I’d rather skip a workout, remembering that someone might be inspired by me choosing a workout over sleeping in, I’m a whole lot more likely to make that workout happen. Blogging has also given me an opportunity to bounce ideas off of other like-minded people when training difficulties or injuries arise.

Deb Runs has also given me the opportunity to try new products that I might now otherwise have heard about, and these cool coasters are a perfect example…

 

And Now for the Giveaway!

To celebrate my six years of blogging, Kudos was kind enough to offer two of their amazing coasters as a prize that one of my readers can win! A few weeks ago, I wrote about the many uses and things that can be displayed in these unique coasters.

If you would like a chance to win two Kudos coasters, please enter below!

 

Rules to enter my Kudos giveaway:
  1. You are allowed to enter every day during this period. The more times and ways you enter, the greater your chances of winning.
  2. Shipping is available only in the continental United States.
  3. Winners will be selected by Rafflecopter at midnight on Wednesday, February 6, and announced in my Weekly Round-Up on Sunday, February 10.
  4. Once the winner is announced, that person will have until Wednesday, February 13 to claim the prize. I will make every effort to contact the winner; however, if the winner fails to claim their prize by February 13th, another winner will be chosen.
  5. The winner agrees to submit their address to DebRuns via email, so the prize can be delivered.
  6. Relatives of Deb Runs and Kudos are not eligible to win.

 

To enter for a chance to win two Kudos Coaster Plus coasters,
please use the Rafflecopter app below.

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

  • Questions:
  • If you win, what will you place in your coasters?
  • If you blog, how many years have you been blogging?