What a crazy year it has been. This year of running was like no other, ever before. This year made it impossible to carry through with my resolution as I have the last 7 years. For those of you who just stumbled upon this blog... this is my end of year running post. I made a new year's resolution 8 years ago to run a race every month to help keep me trained and motivated. I always finish up the year with a post about the races I did, how I performed, how I liked them, who I ran with.. etc. If you are super interested, you can find the previous resolution run posts here: 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
All my racing and running in general is done for my buddy Erica. We met 7 years ago on IRun4 and I have been running for her ever since. She is now 18 years old... no longer a "little kid"... but I will never stop running for her or praying for her and her family. If you have never read about Erica and how we met, you can find the details HERE.
So, here are the races I participated in for 2020. Some of them were virtual, which has always been a "no-no" before... but this year I was forced to make an exception. I had to use several virtual races to complete my resolution this year. But this will be the only year I ever do this (I hope so anyways!). As we finish up 2020, I have lots of running goals for 2021. I have joined the Revolution Running team and will be participating in all of their events next year, which is great because it pretty much ensures me a race each month! I have also registered for the Grindstone 100 in Virginia, which will be the most difficult ultra I have ever participated in to date. I am looking at a few other races as well, but we will see what happens!
January:
Red Nose Half Marathon- this is a free half held every year in Columbus and I have been running it for years. I always love this race and the people and the atmosphere. The race is ran by the riverwalk and the scenery is nice. It is a road race and I usually do it with a group of friends. This year Laura, Stacy, Joel and I all ran! We met up after the race with the rest of the Pike County runner for a photo. Even though the race is free, they still give out medals at the end!
GUTS Fat Ass 25K - I signed up for the 50k this year but just wasn't feeling it mentally. So I dropped down to the 25 and just enjoyed the company. I have done this race every year as well, and it is also a free race! The GUTS running club puts this on every year. The race is ran in loops at Sweetwater Creek State Park and followed by a huge chili contest at the group shelter after! It is always one of my fave races. I did this race with an awesome group of ultra running ladies and we had a great time!
All our local Pike County running peeps!
This was the only picture I could find from FATASS this year! But I had a great time with this group of ladies.
February:
Hot Chocolate 15K- This is another annual race I always do and haven't missed! My friend Stacy usually does this one with me, but she was sick this year. I did have good company though! Angie ran the 5K and Barbra did the 15k with me. We had a great time!
It was cold year! Sometimes its warm.. but not this year. I'm just glad it wasn't raining.
March:
Yeti 7/11 (Virtual): Well, here comes the virtual... this is usually one of my favorite events. All the Yeti races are really fun and I love my Yeti fam, so I was bummed not to participate in this one. Instead, Meghan, Tony and I had our own Yeti 7/11.. and honestly I think I had just as much fun! We even went all out and had candy cigarettes, Slim Jim's and even took a mid run visit to the local gas station! I love these two people and couldn't have had more fun! The year before at 7/11 I had the pleasure of watching the sweetest proposal in the world at the finish line of these VERY SAME PEOPLE!! We spent the 7 hours on the Pine Mountain trail. But in true Yeti fashion... took it off trail, stomped through the woods, climbed up an old overpass, found our way into town, hopped a fence, took a swim... it was just a fun day!
Jogging for Jude 5k (Virtual): I have to say the virtual of this race was awful. I love Max and Jude and I love the race and the atmosphere and the people... and doing it alone just wasn't the same. I am praying next year will be the real deal!
Just smokin' a pack of Winston...
Headed off trail! Why not?
Did somebody say chicken?
What fence?
We may or may not have broken into Callaway and gone for a swim...
No Yeti race is complete with a little Fireball
Jogging for Jude .. virtual is not nearly as fun as the real deal and seeing Max and Jude
April:
Zebra Dash 10k (Virtual): Honestly, this was about the time I realized this whole virtual race thing may be the norm for a while. I didn't like it. At all. I had no intention of participating in these things.. but I knew I probably had to. My buddy Joel called and asked if I wanted to do this one together. I said sure, and at least we can support our friends at Rev Run too.. we knew they had already bought the medals for this race and we worried about their business during this time. So we met up in Concord, kept our 6 feet and knocked out the 10k!
May:
Yeti 24 Hour Virtual- I had a lot of fun with this race! The format gave me a challenge and also let me have some distance. The deal was to run 5 miles, every 4 hours for 24 hours! A total of 6 runs, 30 miles in 24 hours. I had a blast! I did several of the legs with friends. My husband did a late night leg with me and my daughter did the final 1:00 am leg. It was so much fun!
The Tammy Lyn 40- I had the privilege of doing this "homemade" version of Strolling Jim with some of my favorite ultra runners. My good friend Tammy was signed up to run Strolling Jim- it was going to be her first ultra. When the race got cancelled, Kevin Randolph from Revolution Running did the next best thing... he made her a local version! He mapped out the course, same distance as Strolling Jim. He invited ultra runners from the community to come out and participate. After the race, we had a picnic party at the finish line at Dauset! Such a wonderful day to get to see your friend accomplish their goal! This was one of the highlights of my 2020 racing.
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Joel did leg 2 with me for the 24 hour challenge,
My sister met me to do leg 3!
Stacy helped me through leg 5, in the dark!
Leg 6- DONE!! I was so sleepy, it was 2 am and I couldn't wait to go to bed.
The Tammy Lyn 40 crew!
My favorites- Tammy and Annie
We even had super cute bibs to wear ( they were pinned to our packs)
Love these people right here!
Barbra met us half way through!
After party at Dauset.. pizza and cupcakes!
June and July:
GVRAT- The Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. The race was an online format from May through August.
This was another virtual race. Usually my summer consists of classic races like the Peachtree. But this year, races were getting canceled and rescheduled.. and they weren't even doing virtual options! So I signed up for the GVRAT and this was my race for the months of June and July. The way the race worked was to run the distance of 1000k- from one side of Tennessee to the other (virtually) in the allocated time frame. To do this, you must average 5 miles a day. I don't usually run a ton of miles during the summer because we camp a lot and I like to enjoy my time with the kids. But since I had classes this summer, and all the COVID cancelations, I was very happy to have this race to motivate me! I finished dead last on the very last day, but I got it done.
We could see ourselves on the map as we logged out our miles online.
The race was a Laz original (creator of the Barkley Marathons)
Got an awesome coffee mug to celebrate the occasion!
August:
H9- H9, need I say more? This was my second H9 finish. This is probably the hardest 50 miler east of the Mississippi. If the climbing doesn't get you, the heat and humidity will. The race is set at Vogel State Park and runs the Coosa loop and the Duncan Ridge Trail. It is brutal, but I love the punishment. I also love the company I get to keep at this suffer fest! This was the first actual in person "race" I had done since Feb, when COVID shut it all down. It was great to be on the trail with friends doing what I love!
They had cute AID signs to keep up laughing...
My favorite group of H9 trail gals!
We all finished well into the night, we were exhausted!
September:
Yeti Snakebite 50K: I have done the Yeti Snakebite several years now. It is also one of the hottest races of the year. It takes place at Sweetwater Creek State Park. I had a great time and enjoyed the racing atmosphere! Things were beginning to feel normal on the racing scene.
Georgia Jewel 50 mile: The next weekend after the Snakebite was the Georgia Jewel 50. I had planned H9, Snakebite and Jewel to be training races for my goal race later in the year... the Pinhoti 100. I trained for the race at Pine Mountain with several others who had signed up. We spent lots of weekends running Pine Moutain together in anticipation! I had no idea what the course was like, so I just showed up and hoped for the best. I was clearly NOT thinking about what time the race started and when I might finish. I put my headlamp in a drop bag thinking I would need it to finish. But then, when I got to the start line, I realized it would be dark the first hour of the race. So I had to run in the dark. On the rocky sections I pulled out my cellphone. It was a mess! But I managed to finish the race with a great time, despite the challenging course, and I was able to sit at the finish line and cheer on my friends! I loved getting to see my friend Jennifer finish her first 100!
Snakebite crew! Always thankful to have the Yeti fam to run with.
Pre-race photo from the sketchiest, scariest, loudest hotel in the state of Georgia.
Finish time: 12:20
I love this group of trail runners!
This is probably the best race photo of the year. taken at the Georgia Jewel at the last climb, straight up!
October:
Dark and Dirty Half Marathon: This is a great race by Rev Running and it takes place on private property. All single track and beautiful. I ran this with my friend Tammy, but a couple of miles into the race, she suffered an asthma attack. We cut through the woods and back to the car to get her rescue inhaler. We picked back up on the trail, but her lungs were trashed. We decided to cut down to the 10k course and go dance and have fun at the finish line instead! I hope to attempt to run the full course next year.
Jack-O-Lantern Jog 5k (virtual): This is a race I do every year to support my sisters school. This year the race was done virtually, but my sister and I still met at the course start and ran the usual route!
Since Annie is the RD we can't run together, but we had a great time post race handing out medals and finish line dancing!
At the start of the Jack Jog
November:
Pinhoti 100: Pinhoti was my #1 race this year. All my running was centered around finishing this beast. I am posting a few photos below, but you can read ALL about the race HERE. It has its own post.
Tough Turkey Half Marathon: I love this race, it is near and dear to my heart. I always volunteer and the cause is a worthy one. My sister and I have our own little turkey outfits we wear every year as well. This year, I was tired and my legs were not moving super fast, but I enjoyed the company and Barbra, Dani and I got it done!
Peachtree Road Race 10K Virtual: This Peachtree was the most UNUSUAL race of the year. For a race with 60,000 people and 90+ degree heat... this years version was the total opposite. I ran it at a local running track with just 2 other people. And it wasn't even hot. Such a strange feeling. The only thing that was the same was that I ran it with Stacy. I sure hope we are able to race the Peachtree live and in person next year. It will be my 9th Peachtree Road race and I very much look forward to it every year!
The leaves at Pinhoti were unbelievable!
My crew, best crew EVER!
My pacer Tony!
Such an accomplishment to finish the Pinhoti 100. This was definitely the best racing moment of the year, crossing that finish line.
My favorite turkey and I, handing out packets race morning at the Tough Turkey.
Finish line with my favorite running girls! Love them so much!
The finish line at the Peachtree virtual... I did wear my bib!
December:
Holiday Hootie Hoo Half Marathon: Well, this is the last race of the dreaded 2020. I am so glad we are closing the door to this year. Unfortunately I was not able to run the Pine Mountain 46 this year. Both of the girls had end of season soccer tournaments in different areas of the state and I just could NOT make it work. So I had to find something else last minute. A friend suggested this race and it was perfect. It was still on my favorite trail in the whole world, Pine Mountain. It was a difficult race with a good bit of climbing, but I had a great race. I pushed hard and had a good finish time overall, despite taking a wrong turn in the first few miles and losing some time. I am glad to finish the 2020 racing season on a good note. I am super excited about 2021. I have high hopes of more racing!
My favorite picture spot at Pine Mountain
Beautiful hand crafted ornaments for finishers.
This was written on the back of my bib... love it when they put a little personal touch to the race.
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