So, I have been working on this schedule for my "40 at 40" adventure... at the beginning running 40 half marathons between my 40th and 41st birthdays seemed daunting.
I had considered counting all races, and then limited it to 10k and up, changed that to 10 miles and up... and finally committed to only the races 13.1 or longer counting in the official tally.
Not to long ago I joined half-fanatics. On their website they ask a series of questions to determine if their group is a good fit for you...
Do your thoughts switch to the next scheduled race immediately after finishing a Half Marathon? YES!!!
Are you signed up for more than one race right now? YES!!!
Do you know specifics about many of the Half Marathons? Dates, courses, years run, etc.? YES!!!
Are your closets and dressers filled with race t-shirts? YES!!!
Have you run races on back to back weekends? Or better yet back to back days? YES!!!
These are just a few of the questions, but my answers told me that this is where I belonged. After filling out my application, I was informed that I would be entering at the "3 Moon" level of Saturn - my qualification was having run 4 Half Marathons in 4 different states in less than 51 days back in 2011.
The next day I got the E-Mail:
I had considered counting all races, and then limited it to 10k and up, changed that to 10 miles and up... and finally committed to only the races 13.1 or longer counting in the official tally.
Not to long ago I joined half-fanatics. On their website they ask a series of questions to determine if their group is a good fit for you...
Do your thoughts switch to the next scheduled race immediately after finishing a Half Marathon? YES!!!
Are you signed up for more than one race right now? YES!!!
Do you know specifics about many of the Half Marathons? Dates, courses, years run, etc.? YES!!!
Are your closets and dressers filled with race t-shirts? YES!!!
Have you run races on back to back weekends? Or better yet back to back days? YES!!!
These are just a few of the questions, but my answers told me that this is where I belonged. After filling out my application, I was informed that I would be entering at the "3 Moon" level of Saturn - my qualification was having run 4 Half Marathons in 4 different states in less than 51 days back in 2011.
The next day I got the E-Mail:
Feeling more excited than I should possibly admit to being committed..... I updated my profile with the 40 half marathons I have run between 2006 and now. Then I added my upcoming races... at the time 32. Races of greater that 13.1 miles count, up to but NOT including full marathons... (the marathon maniacsclub tracks those).
That is when I saw it. The highest level of achievement a Half Fanatic can reach:
The ten moon level - THE SUN
How do you reach the sun? There are three ways:
1. 52 Half Marathons or more within 365 days.
2. 30 Half Marathons in 30 US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) within 365 days.
3. 20 Countries within 365 days.
I knew immediately If I did it, I would have to do #1. The travel required for #2 and #3 would be next to impossible for me in a year.... but 52??? That's, crazy.
But... I am already doing 40... what is 12 more? The decision was made before I said it out loud... I was going to chase the sun.
Knowing that there would undoubtedly be weekends that I could not run, especially getting into the warm summer months, doubles would be necessary.
There are some great tools online to help with this. My personal favorite is on the Running in the USA website. Here you can search for races on your own by state or by weekend... for for those looking to do doubles, either for #s or for state count (very popular in the 50 states half marathon or marathon clubs), they actually have a "50 staters gadget", where you can search for races close together on the same weekend.
The most useful resource however, in my opinion, are good running friends. Those that understand and support this passion, those that have run a lot of races, and/or talk to others that do. Those people are all around, and I have met many of them in Facebook groups like Bling Hos and Running the World.
My friend Jeff is one of these supporters and has been so helpful in helping me plot this journey. Sometimes he is the source of information, and sometimes the voice of reason: like telling me I would be disappointed doing the half in little rock when I saw the marathon for the full - so Instead we looked and found a good double this weekend. Good advice... but I will run Little Rock in 2015.... after my feet are firmly planted on the sun.
That is when I saw it. The highest level of achievement a Half Fanatic can reach:
The ten moon level - THE SUN
How do you reach the sun? There are three ways:
1. 52 Half Marathons or more within 365 days.
2. 30 Half Marathons in 30 US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) within 365 days.
3. 20 Countries within 365 days.
I knew immediately If I did it, I would have to do #1. The travel required for #2 and #3 would be next to impossible for me in a year.... but 52??? That's, crazy.
But... I am already doing 40... what is 12 more? The decision was made before I said it out loud... I was going to chase the sun.
Knowing that there would undoubtedly be weekends that I could not run, especially getting into the warm summer months, doubles would be necessary.
There are some great tools online to help with this. My personal favorite is on the Running in the USA website. Here you can search for races on your own by state or by weekend... for for those looking to do doubles, either for #s or for state count (very popular in the 50 states half marathon or marathon clubs), they actually have a "50 staters gadget", where you can search for races close together on the same weekend.
The most useful resource however, in my opinion, are good running friends. Those that understand and support this passion, those that have run a lot of races, and/or talk to others that do. Those people are all around, and I have met many of them in Facebook groups like Bling Hos and Running the World.
My friend Jeff is one of these supporters and has been so helpful in helping me plot this journey. Sometimes he is the source of information, and sometimes the voice of reason: like telling me I would be disappointed doing the half in little rock when I saw the marathon for the full - so Instead we looked and found a good double this weekend. Good advice... but I will run Little Rock in 2015.... after my feet are firmly planted on the sun.
So now the journey begins... as I sit here tonight, I have 3 weeks and three days. Time to get moving.
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