My 2020 Running Goals

The Boston Marathon logo.

The new year brings new hope. And new aspirations! Time to set some awesome running goals. Challenging, but doable. Here are my goals for 2020:

1. Qualify for the Boston Marathon!
I will be 55 for the 2021 Boston Marathon. That means a new age group and "easier" qualifying standards. I need to run a 3:35 marathon to qualify in the 55-59 male age group. That is an 8:12/mile pace. But you also need to beat that standard by 2-3 minutes to actually get into the darn Boston Marathon race. So, I'm shooting for 3:32. I'll attempt to run my BQ time at the April BQ.2 Marathon race in Geneva, IL. If I miss my time in April, they have a repeat "last chance" race in September. If I miss my BQ time at both races, then fuck Boston. I'm an ultrarunner anyway!

2. Run at least one ultramarathon race.
In my heart, I am an ultrarunner. I need to complete a race at a distance longer than 26.2 miles. Plenty of fat ass local events that can get me this goal (Riddle Run 28M, Last Man Standing, Winter Solstice, etc). And wonderful nearby official events like Howl at the Moon 8-hour, Clinton Lake 30M, Potawatomi 50/100/150/200. My guess is I'll finish Riddle Run 28M and exceed 26.2 miles at Last Man Standing and Howl at the Moon. That'll be three ultras for the year!

3. Run at least 1700 miles this year.
I need to push myself to run more miles every week. Every month. Why not average 33 miles/week for 52 weeks? That would be 1,716 miles for the year. Works for me! I'd love to hit 2,000 miles. I think that is a stretch, especially since I rarely achieve 1,500 miles. If I am doing serious marathon training, then knocking off a few ultras, I should have more overall miles. Hitting 1500 would be too easy. Let's try for 1700 miles with a dream BIG goal of 2000.