2009 - A Look Ahead

Well, now that the Resolution Run 5k, the first race of the New Year, is in the books, I can look ahead a little bit to what 2009 holds in store. Hopefully it will be another good running year, and I can meet some goals.

First, of course, I want to stay healthy -- no new injuries -- and get healthier. That's the most important thing. I would like to finally make the 1,000-mile club this year after having come close in the past, even if I do it with many more short runs than marathons. That would be a good measure of consistency. I would like to be a more regular participant in the Second Empire Grand Prix series; I'm not going to win anything by speed, but I should be able to take part frequently enough to get "frequent participant" points. Same deal with the winter series with Carolina Godiva and the military series near Fort Bragg.

Another goal is to do well as the 2009 president of the North Carolina Roadrunners Club. It's a big responsibility, and with 2009 being the 30th anniversary of the club, there is a lot of opportunity for the club to get some good publicity and build on the good foundation that Mike and Aaron provided. And I'll be race director this year for the American Tobacco Trail 10-Miler, and it's important that the ATT-10 be a great race again this year. Hopefully I'll continue to make new running friends and get a chance to bring more runners into the NCRC.

Hopefully in 2009 Chad and I can get ten or more new counties into our 100-County Countdown as well. It's always fun seeing a new part of the state and running in some new quirky races.

So 2009 has a lot of potential and hopefully I can make something of it. Like an empty country road at sunrise, it's all out there in front of me and all I got to do is keep going.