Wow! I did it! I ran my first marathon in 22 years yesterday, when I ran the first annual Illinois Marathon in Champaign-Urbana. It was a great race. Read more »

Finally! It has been four months since my last race and since I last added a new county in my goal of running a race in all 102 Illinois counties. Today I ended the drought by running in the McKendree University Ramble into Spring 10K in Lebanon, Illinois.
This was a great race and challenging too. It was extremely well organized, with plenty of parking and a great starting point at the school's gym facilities. The t-shirt was so-so but the cost of the race was only $8. The course was hilly and scenic when it went around the campus and Horner Park. There was a 5k and a 10k. Read more »

I'm not sure if setting goals is the greatest idea in the world, but here are my goals for 2009, as I continue my effort to run a race in all 102 counties in Illinois. Read more »

In February, I decided I would like to run a race in all 102 counties in Illinois. Up until that point, I had run races in 11 different counties. I have given myself 14 years to accomplish this goal. I had hoped to run races in at least 10 counties a year for the first four years, and at least five counties a year for the next ten.

So, my first goal for 2008 was to add at least ten counties to my county total. In that, 2008 was a huge success. I added 16 counties to my total and have now run races in 27 counties. Only 75 to go. Read more »

Well, one of the more memorable races I've run in Illinois was done today, as I ran in the 20th annual Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run in Jersey County. I had never done a trail run before today.
Everything was perfect today for this race. It hasn't rained since Tuesday so it wasn't too muddy, there was no snow or ice on the trail and the temperature was in the high 30s. Still, this was a tough run and I have no idea how they do it when the trail is snow covered, icy or extremely muddy. My hat's off to those who have done this in previous years under lousy weather conditions. Read more »

I live in Sangamon County and have run a lot of races here. So, doing the Frostbite 10 miler today in Springfield didn't add to my county total, as I attempt to run a race in all 102 Illinois counties. Read more »

The good news is I finished 20th in today's Beta Sigma Phi Half Marathon in Clay County, which is my highest finish ever in a half marathon. The bad news is there were only 25 runners, Read more »

In my continuing quest to run a race in all 102 Illinois counties, I ran the Panther 5k in Bond County today. I was very pleasantly surprised. Read more »

At first, I was kind of disappointed with my time in the Hills and Hollows Half Marathon today, but after a little thought, maybe it wasn't so bad.
The Hills and Hollows Half lived up to its name: a lot of hills and running by a lot of hollows. The first four miles were one small hill after another. Then, it was two long downhills followed by five miles or so of flat course. At mile 11, however, began a two mile uphill run to the finish. Read more »

Snuck in an unexpected race today, traveling up to Canton for the first ever Friendship Fest 5k. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately since I like to run, it was a little longer than a 5K Read more »