So what are you doing these days to keep the fun in your run?
We, runners, are still navigating our way through safety precautions still prevalent in the world of sports. During these strange times very little separates recreational runners from professionals. We all miss the opportunities to run with friends or teammates, and we both miss the competition. Whether you are striving for a PR at a local 5K or eyeing down the world record, competition is competition. It is the drive to see how we perform at the moment.
Competition is the celebration of a hard training cycle, regardless of the outcome. We put in the work. As runners, a finish line is a transition to the next starting line. Professional runners are facing this during an Olympic year. Understandably the Olympics was pushed back to 2021, but that leaves many professional runners in limbo with no races on the schedule to effectively train for their goals. Recreational runners may not have the Olympics to plan for, but many large races including the Boston Marathon were rescheduled. The drastic change in event date is taxing, not only with the necessary changes in training but also the logistics of balancing work schedules and family needs.
Racing is a big deal.
Racing teaches us about ourselves. Sometimes it reminds us we missed a couple of weeks of training due to being sick, work got busy, or that everything went right and our race played out exactly as we imagined. These outcomes are all important because of the feedback it provides about our training, lifestyle, and our reasons for running.
We may not be able to join together at a local race, but the running community is finding creative ways to have fun with their run. The spirit of competition and the drive to complete the goals we set is still very much alive in the running community even when the goals are shifted drastically.
Runners are creative.
Chris and Emily Phillips 
Timesheet 
Trails 
The miles are adding up…
Emily Phillips challenged her dad, Chris Phillips, to run 1 mile every hour for 24 hours. He accepted, using the hashtag #notmyidea on Facebook, as they planned their strategy. Emily, a sophomore at Lee County High School had her track season cut short by the school closing. She was excited to do something different that included running and broke the monotony of sheltering in place. Chris planned multiple one-mile routes, some on the roads, and some on trails to give their legs a break. They pulled an all-nighter opting not to sleep during the challenge.
Chris said the lowest point of the challenge was at three miles to go, he knew it would still take another 3 hours before they were done. It wasn’t the running that was wearing them down, but the time being awake and waiting for the next go time. All in all, they finished 24 individual miles, had a lot of laughs, and well-spent time together.
Maryann, Anna, & Waylon 
On the run 
Break time 
All smiles
Another pair of active Albany running community members, Maryann Plowden, a high school teacher, and cross country coach for Westover High School and her daughter Anna a Sophmore at Westover High School, were all in with the 24-hour running challenge. They tweaked their challenge to run 1.1 miles every hour for 24 hours starting from 2:00 pm until 2:00 pm the next day. Their total mileage accumulation was just over the marathon distance of 26.2. They ran a measured course around their neighborhood with Waylon the dog featured in the first and last few miles.
The tough point of their adventure came around 4:00 am when lack of sleep was catching up with Anna, a high school track athlete from Westover High School. Her mom, Maryann summoned the superhero mom skills of being able to thrive while sleep-deprived after rearing four kids. They rallied and continued fueled by hummus, pretzels, and lots of blueberries. Henry, Anna’s brother delivered takeout Chick-Fil-A when they finished. Completing the 24-hour stint of running gave them a story to tell and many memories shared.
Running for the sake of running.
The feeling of achievement and accomplishment in running can be attained by nontraditional means. Right now we as runners need to look past our traditional seasons and races and find our joy of running. Eventually, we will get back to races and competitive seasons, but for now, use running to make memories and make it a FunRunDay.