In January of this year I finished 7 years goal of running 50 marathons in 50 states I figured I’d take some time off and not run for awhile or maybe ever. You know instead of waking up at the crack of 4:30am (good Lord! it’s early) in the morning I’d sleep in until 6:30! For some folks 6:30 is still way early but for a runner 6:30 is practically the middle of the day. After just a few days I became depressed and my whole day just felt wrong from the moment I woke up. I asked my wife one day “Is this how normal people who don’t run feel all the time? This sucks!!”

Things that I discovered after I swore off running

• Even though my alarm was set for 2 hours later I’d still wake up in the darkness and lay there unable to go back to sleep.
• Running does indeed burn calories, I gained 15lbs
•  My laundry was cut down by 75% since apparently I only wear running clothes.
• I felt like I had no purpose in life

I could’nt just stop running. What did Christopher Columbus do after discovering America? Go back to Italy and open a spaghetti restaurant? What about Neil Armstrong? After giving the performance of a lifetime did he retire and give up acting? Well, maybe. Anyway what was left for me? Climb Mount Everest? Invent a longer lasting light bulb?

I started back running again in the mornings after a month of my little non-running sabbatical but  I soon learned that without a marathon to look forward to I didn’t feel the same fire, the same passion to spring out of bed in the morning and hit the pavement was gone. So to fix this, I ran the Salt Lake Marathon and then I ran the Ogden Marathon. I also ran the Deseret News 1/2 Marathon. All 3 of these I’ve run before and they’re nice but I needed a new race to challenge me. You know something close but still far away!

The St. George Marathon was just what the doctor ordered. So in just a couple of days I’ll be in St. George, Utah running a brand spanking new race! New for me anyway. I feel strong, I feel very ready. This will mark my 60th marathon overall.

I realize now I can never give up running. I love it way too much. I will keep running as long as my 1 leg and 1/2 will carry me.