5 Lessons from Running 1,400 Miles
From where I live, it’s 1,408 miles to Homewood, IL, population 19,000. In 2023, that’s the distance my legs have carried me. From home to Homewood.
I’ve reflected more than once during some very difficult runs on an out-of-context passage from the Bible’s Book of Proverbs:
The wicked run when no one is chasing them. — Proverbs 28:1
I’ve been running since 2008, but I’ve only identified as a runner for the last couple of years.
I started 2023 with a running goal that felt hard but attainable: 1,400 miles.
Accounting for 4 weeks off, to meet that goal I would have to run just shy of 30 miles per week. If you’ll pardon the pun, having a long track record of running, I was confident I could meet the goal.
Then, there was injury in May and sickness in October that cost me almost 8 weeks and led me to abandon the goal. In late-October or early-November, I got back into running. November 28th, I realized that if I could manage to run 200 miles in December — I’ve never run 200 miles in one month — that I could still make my 1,400 mile goal.
With support of some good friends, I set out on my quest: 8 miles per day, 6 days per week.
