This has been a busy summer. 13 races was an easy goal to meet. In fact, I blew past that ages ago. I even took some time to venture out into multi-sport racing.

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6) *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20) *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27) * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race 🙂

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16) Started off race season better than last year’s best time.

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue. Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism. Another cancellation. Not by me. Evidently the course was too wet. We showed up with our rain gear for this “rain or shine” event only to find signs on the door calling it off. Can you say disappointed?

Memphis in May 10k, Tunica (5/17) Unexpected heat on this afternoon/evening race gave me an advantage. A 10K PR and 3rd in my age group.

Flower Power 5k, Covington, TN (5/18) Ran the morning after my 10k PR. Not fast, but not at training pace either. This was a late addition to the schedule.

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler, Memphis Zoo (5/23) This 4 mile race has a great after party. The only downside to this race is the crowded start, and the 4 abreast walkers. Great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, but I would be grateful if the start was at least close to the same order as the expected finish.

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27) A salute to Memphis servicemen that gave their lives on the field of battle. A great way to spend Memorial Day.

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2) DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Gibson Guitar 5k (6/15) One of the M Town series, along with Zoom Through the Zoo, Harbor Town 5k, and the Stars and Stripes 5k. A hot, muggy run, with a great after party. It was kind of a dirty trick–after the run, you had to climb four flights of stairs to get to the roof of the Gibson Guitar factory.

Stars and Stripes 5k (7/3) The final race of the M Town series, and another hot muggy mess. This was even better because I got across the tracks before the train caused a delay. Great music at the after party, along with Hamburgers and hot dogs. Not to mention a 5k age group PR (I have to track age group PRs because I’ll never be as fast as I was while in the Corps.

Tomato Festival 5k (7/13) A fun, but hilly race in Lauderdale County, TN. The age group PR I set at the Gibson 5k fell by a good 40 seconds.

Road Race Series 5k (7/28) This was actually the second 5k of the series, but I couldn’t make the first one.

Celeberate Munford 5k (8/10) Another local race. Best part about this one, was pushing my granddaughter, Emerson. I was finally the guy that passes people pushing a stroller. Emerson and I have raced together before. I pushed her across the finish line her first race, at the Botanic Garden Daffodil Dash last year. I also got to push her at last year’s Zoom Through The Zoo.

Road Race Series 5 miler (8/11) Hot. Hot and Muggy. Brutal.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)Too busy. Too much stuff to do, had to skip this one.

Road Race Series 5 Miler (8/25) Another hot race, but somewhat cooler.

Cooper Young 4 miler (9/13) This is just a fun run. Lots of spectator participation. Sprinklers, music, drinks. A fun event.

Brighton Centennial 5k (9/14) I love running local races. Although we have some world class runners, and I don’t place, I just love running in my home county. I wish Tipton County had more races. Running this the morning after the Cooper Young 4 miler might not have been overly smart, but I had a good run.

Barnstormer Duathlon (9/21) My first multi-sport. A 2 mile run, followed by a 13 mile bike ride, followed by another 2 mile run. 2nd in my age group–you’ve got to love a small field.

Road Race Series 10K (9/22) Again, doing back-to-back races might be a little ambitious, but I’m having a good time with these. It’s not always about turning in the fastest time–it’s also about just having fun, moving, and enjoying the run.

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/6)

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/20)

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/3)

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/17)

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)