2020 was an interesting year for all of us.

Lots of canceled races.

Lots of revised training.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't an interesting year.

I ended up with exactly zero actual races in 2020, after withdrawal from ABF and cancellation of the Prairie Spirit 100M. But I didn't let that stop me. In this post, I review some of the most significant events of 2020.

41 for 41

I turned 41 at the beginning of 2020, so I used cancellation of the Prairie Spirit 100M to do a 41-mile solo birthday celebration run.  Around the block. In the early stages of the pandemic, when Italy was in lockdown and TP was still impossible to find, venturing a long way from home was not encouraged. Instead, I ran loops around my block. At just over a half mile per loop, I ran 82 loops and into the cheers of my family gathered in the front yard.It was great to have them be a part of it, as that's just such an uncommon part of my running experience.

KMR Day

Kessler Mountain Road (KMR) is a road up one of our local mountains. Just over a mile long, it gets around 450 ft of vertical gain each trip. I've always "enjoyed" workouts on KMR, so in late spring I decided to do a big KMR day. My previous best on the hill was 50K, so I decided to shoot for 25 KMRs (around 54 miles). In the end, I was done in by the first hot day of the year. The final tally was 20 KMRs (a bit over 43 miles). It was not the day I'd hoped for, but it was still a good outing.

Chuck Norris Challenge

14 days of virtual racing (on a curve). The event was a 14-day ladder of time trials: 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, 25K, 30K, and 35K... and then back down: 280K of racing over two weeks. Not only was each day a time trial, but each person's time was adjusted on a scale based on age group (of which I ended up being in the most competitive). This event was amazingly fatiguing, both physically and mentally. Getting up every day knowing that I had to run hard again was much more taxing than I imagined it would be. Yet in the end, I set PRs in almost every distance and earned in 2nd place in the overall standings.

70 Possum's Revenge Fun Run

A group of friends were planning a slow overnight 69 miles in the middle of summer to complete the Possum's Revenge virtual race (and get a snazzy medal). I decided to do it at virtually the last minute. The event was sold out, so i just decided to do it as a "fun run". All in all it was a great time. Very social. I met new people, and it was really just a laid back, fun time running. It was super slow and pleasant. In the end, I helped "pace" a runner to his longest ever completion. And I ended up with 70 miles. And I learned about the joy of Uncrustables.

Goggins Challenge Revised

Dave Goggins 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours has become a cultural phenomenon. I'd done it previously, but didn't find it to be all that difficult. I created my own variation: 5-6-7-8-9-10-10-9-8-7-6-5. That's 90 miles over 48 hours. This challenge sucked. Especially once the mileage hit 9 miles. I spent that night (when i wasn't running) sleeping on the sofa covered with a sheet; I didn't want to wast rest time by showering. I was so happy to finish and sleep again. This was way harder than the 4x4, and I told myself never again, but given that I want to train for 200+ mile runs... I'll probably end up doing it again.

Solo 100M (DNF)

In October, as the weather cooled and a small injury forced me to "taper", I took up the challenge of doing a solo 100 miler on some local dirt roads. The weather actually warmed up as the weekend neared however, which led to a different plan of attack. I planned to take the first 50-60 miles relatively hard so that I could back off during the afternoon heat before finishing in the cooler evening. I also wanted to hit around 9:30 (maybe 10:00) pace overall.

The morning went really well, but I did not pay enough attention to my fluids. I thought I was, but I clearly wasn't. At 40 miles, I was at my vehicle/aid station, and I was out of it. Up to then the pace had been fine, but I was having a hard time moving. I set out, but turned around not long after. I pulled the plug at 41 miles (Do you see a theme yet?). In retrospect, I probably could have sat in the the shade of my vehicle and hydrated for a long time and then pushed on, but I knew that would leave me way behind my goal, and I just didn't want to keep it up. That said, I also didn't use the bathroom for the next four hours, so I was definitely dehydrated.

Halloween 50 Mile

A friend of mine had been planning races with new distance PRs, but they'd been cancelled. He scheduled his own 50-mile run for Halloween. Originally, he was gonna do trail, but recent rain made that an iffy proposition, so he ended up running the same dirt roads I DNF'ed the previous month. At that time, I was still emotionally raw from my own failed attempt, and i was getting over an ITB issue, but I told him I'd run with him for at least part of the way. My body held up, and I was able to go the whole distance, helping my buddy (and frequent training partner) to a new distance PR!

Greenway FKT

I've already written a post for this, so I won't belabor the point. Suffice to say, 41 (or 43 in the case of the KMR day) was a recurring number this year.

Final Words

Races may have been cancelled. I may not have left Northwest Arkansas in post-February 2020. But it was still an eventful year. Virtual races popped up, and I know more than a few people who were inspired to complete events despite the difficulties and restrictions. I was inspired to be a part of several other people's successes, even as I experienced a mix of success and failure, dejection and exhilaration. So in a year like no other in my lifetime, running wasn't cancelled. Running remained.