DebRuns Debut

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for ten years, and yet when I look back on some of my earlier posts, some of the events I talked about seem like a lifetime ago. On January 31, 2013 I hit publish for the first time and my very first post on DebRuns appeared, complete with a screen shot of my laptop and a plea to stay tuned.

 

How it Began

One evening over dinner, my 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 DebRuns as my blog name, the name that had once adorned my SUV’s vanity plates, and a picture of those expired plates became my blog’s banner during its early days. With a little help from my husband and son, Deb Runs became a reality, and about two weeks later, I enthusiastically jumped into the world of blogging.

 

More than Just Running Talk

In addition to race recaps, training tips, summaries of workouts, and the occasional interview with a local athlete, I like to take a light hearted look at running, including things runners either love to talk about or hate to admit we might do while out on the trail.

Interestingly, my two most popular posts had nothing to do with fitness… What It’s Really Like to be a Hokie got 1,784  views  the day it went viral after a student shared it on a Virginia Tech Facebook page, and the post that gets 20 or so hits every single day is My Favorite Walked Into A Bar Jokes Are Corny, Hilarious, And Even Educational.

 

A Few Stats from the Past Ten Years

Just for fun I compiled a few stats from my 3,652 days of blogging. During that time DebRuns has shared…

1,615 Blog Posts
73 Race Recaps
41 Throwback Race Recaps
1 Race Recap from a Race Director’s Perspective
2 Linkups: Wednesday Word and Race Linkup (Both Now Defunct)

 

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 person at planned meetups at races, on training runs, and even at parties. I’ve also randomly met people at races who recognize me from the blog.

Believe it or not, DebRuns holds me accountable. On days I’m tempted to skip a workout, remembering that someone might be inspired by me choosing a workout over sleeping in makes me much 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.

I’ve had the opportunity to try new products that I might not otherwise have heard about when products were pitched to DebRuns to try and review. And over the years, I’ve been offered a few ambassadorships in exchange for promoting gear, apparel, and races to my readers and social media followers.

 

How Much Has Deb Run Since DebRuns Started

During the past ten years, I’ve added quite a few races to my racing history. Here’s the rundown…

41 5K’s
2 4-Milers
1 8K
3 10K’s
4 10-Milers
3 20K’s
11 Half Marathons
1 25K
5 Ragnar Relays
71 Total Races
5 Trail Races/66 Road Races
1 1st-Place Overall Female Master Winner
20 Age Group Wins
8 Age Group Second Place Finishes
9 Age Group Third Place Finishes
1 4-Miler PR
1 Half PR
1 20K PR

 

 

Other Thoughts Fit to Discuss

As DebRuns’ tagline suggests, much of my blog includes talking about fitness activities above and beyond running. During the last few years I’ve talked more about cycling as that’s become a huge part of my cardio routine; and of course, I have continued to include discussions of strength training, a passion since 1983.

 

Questions:
  • • If you blog, how long have you been blogging?
  • • If you’re a regular reader, do you recall how and when you found my blog? Or do you blog, and I found your blog first?
  • • If you blog, how did you come up with your blog’s name?