By 2015, I had completed 50 races – reflections, from back then, are here. Ten years and five months later — also, two kids, one global pandemic, and one conquered tenure track later — I have now completed 80.
My 80th race, the RDC Half Marathon, went great! I am not fast by the standards of where I was at the time of my 50th race — pre-kids, pre-pandemic, pre-tenure track. But I ran the half-marathon distance 8 minutes faster than last year. I ran it in the middle of grading, travel, kids’ illnesses, and crushing grant deadlines. And somehow, by some miracle, I even placed second in my age group. Apparently, at small races like this one, the 8 minutes I shaved off my time from 2024 to 2025 make the difference between being middle-of-the-pack and being in the top five in the age group. A pleasant surprise to be taking home this, very minor, award, which happens to be my first race award since 2020.
