2019 Race Directory Updates

2019 Race Directory Updates are on-going. Be sure to check back for updates and additions as the year goes on. Have a great 2019 running year and run well my Friends!

As we roll into 2019 I’ll be making Race Directory updates with new dates and hopefully a few new races.

The most popular race directory that I keep is the New England Marathons Fall. I started tracking these marathons in 2015 and last year the post just took off.

Now that winter is officially here I’ll be changing the name to New England Marathons Fall 2019 this week. Not to worry, I will keep the same URL for the blog post. If you have it book marked you won’t have to make any changes.

I’m glad that the Fall Marathons directory became popular and not the Summer Marathons post. Fall has enough marathons in New England to keep things interesting without it becoming a full time job for me.

5K Race Directory Updates

I will also continue to update the 5K race directories for local cities and towns. Just like for the marathon listings, I’ll keep the same URL and change the title only.

Unlike most directories published by the big web sites, I will not inundate you with ads and pop ups. I will mention the My First 5K medal on occasion. Many 5Ks only award the top three runners over all and often age-group winners.

Unlike the corporate web sites, I often speak with the race director. This lets me get dates listed quicker and get the latest updates.

Without all of the ads and clutter, it is much easier to find a race in your town on my directories. Here are two popular listings that I will be updating shortly:

Somerville 5K Race Directory

Cambridge 5K Race Directory

GBA St. Patrick’s Day Races

Most other cities and towns only have a handful of races, so it’s hard to put together much of a listing. I may consolidate some of these other directories into regional directories.

50th 5K Race

My 50th 5K race has been run

I crossed the 50th finish line in Wakefield on Wednesday night. This was my 12th Lake Q race with the Mystics during this quest.

Boston JP Morgan, Andy nagelin

It was only fitting that I should complete my quest with The Mystics as my first race in this quest was with the Mystics on September 19th 2014. I only ran with them twice in 2014 and then 10 times this year. Without their Wednesday night races I don’t think I could have done this.

Not every race was a 5K. The Marathon Sports trail runs were much less, but the Bay State Marathon was a wee bit longer. At a few 5Ks the race directors acknowledged that their course was short. It never bothered me.

A few nights as I fought 93 North traffic going to my 2nd or 3rd race of the week I wondered what the hell I was doing. Why am I doing this?

I think all of us have had those same thoughts while either on a run or during a race. Why do we do this? Why do we go out in the cold and the heat and get all hot and sweaty when we could be sitting at home or asleep in bed? Who doesn’t love sleep?

Just as something compels us to get up on Sunday mornings and run 16 miles come hell or high snow, something compelled me to keep going.

At some point during every race I wonder what the hell I’m doing. Then after the race I’m usually thrilled by the experience. Over the past year I often asked why I was doing this, why I was spending so many evenings out running and not taking care of things at home.

I can’t say that I have that same post race feeling of satisfaction right now. My friend Paul Whitelam asked me how I felt after the race tonight. He read my previous post and asked if I felt worthy. I smiled and said, “I guess so.”

Being the Englishman that he is, he stuck out his hand and said, “Well done.”

Run well my friends!

Andy

Baystate quick note

Baystate has been run

My time was 3:49. This is about 2 minutes slower than last year. After my amazing results at Boston and Lubec, I’m a little let down by my performance today.

It was warmer than forecast so I was over dressed. I carried 2x the food I needed so there was extra weight and distractions.

I had high hopes for today and the conditions seemed ideal. I mis-calculated. As always, I could have trained more. Have you ever run a race and not had that thought?

So I’ll try to stop whining in my beer and go get another one.Here is the link to current results. I’ll have a post tomorrow and maybe a YouTube video.

Congrats to everyone who ran today. I hope you had a good race and enjoyed some time with your tribe.

Sleep well!

Andy

Fire in the belly

I saw this line in Monday’s blog post from Marc and Angel Hack Life and wanted to share it.

there are seven days in the week, and “someday” isn’t one of them.

This goes along with Thomas Jefferson’s “Never put off ’till tomorrow what you can do today.”

What do you want to do with your life?

10, 20 years from now, do you want to be doing what you are doing right now?

Is this good enough, or as good as it gets?

Are you just coasting through life?

If you have a dream you need to pursue it NOW. There are a million excuses to keep doing the same old same old.

Has the same old same old been making you happy?

If it has, good for you. But I suspect most of you have an itch, a restlessness to try something new or different. Life has become stale and boring. You don’t have to quit your job or get a divorce.

Maybe you have an old hobby or musical instrument that you would like to pick up again. Maybe you are tired of being out of shape. Maybe you do need to quit your job and go after that new career.

What ever is burning in your belly – go after it. What can you do today, or right now, to pursue your dreams instead of dreaming your way through life?

Think about what fires you up. What gets the juices flowing and the heart pumping. What can you talk about for hours? What do you dream about?