On Monday I ran my 2,500th mile of 2018. It was the first time crossing that elusive threshold in a calendar year — and there’s still about two weeks left to tack on another hundred miles or so.

A few years back, maybe 2011 or 2012, I challenged myself to join the (imaginary?) 2,000 Mile Club and achieve the previously unthinkable total by midnight on December 31st. It took me ’til 2015 to reach that magic number, but, as they say, the reward was in the journey itself.

In my younger and more vulnerable years an old friend gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since: to become a serious runner, you must hold yourself accountable by keeping track of your running. Distance, pace, location, excuses, etc. I took that advice heart and have kept detailed records for over a decade. In keeping with my delightful obsessive + compulsive tendencies, I keep a detailed record of my running, both physically (the essential Complete Runner’s Day-By-Day Journal) and digitally (Strava!).

Below are my mileage totals from 2005 to the present, my entire lifetime of running. In some ways it’s a staggering list to examine, mostly because I am now on the verge of age 32 and the preceding 13 years went by just as fast as everyone warned me they would.

• 2017: 2400 miles
• 2016: 2222 miles
• 2015: 2044 miles
• 2014: 1800 miles
• 2013: 1856 miles
• 2012: 1800 miles
• 2011: 1536 miles
• 2010: 1506 miles
• 2009: 1536 miles
• 2008: 1365 miles
• 2007: 1004 miles
• 2006: 1234 miles
• 2005: 592 miles

During an afternoon run with the Winter Run Club this week, one of the guys told me he’d run every day of December (so far) and was attempting to finish out the year with 500 total miles. It’s always surprising when my weird, idiosyncratic habits inspire other people. The conversation got me thinking about all of the preceding years and the ways I managed to increase my mileage and meet my goals.

It all comes back to the numbers. That’s been the easiest way for me to set, achieve, and maintain my running goals. Numbers. In June 2008 I decided I was going to run 30 miles a week, no matter what. I had been dating Sarah for about 6 months and I remember making that decision while writing in my running log at her mom’s house in downtown Rockford.

Until that moment, I would shuffle anywhere from 15 to 35 miles per week. Running was not the focal point of my life, it was a side note. A hobby.

By then I had shed the extra pounds from high school and was beginning to dabble in longer road races, but I would also fall off the wagon and miss an entire week or two, periodically. That being said, these behaviors are completely normal and acceptable. For years I would have ‘on’ weeks and ‘off’ weeks. But that day in Rockford my wiring changed and I decided to get that 30 per week, regardless of any potential interference. If I chose to take a few days off, that might mean needing to run 10 miles on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday to hit the my 30, but that’s what I did. No excuses.

From there, the weekly totals steadily increased, usually as a New Years resolution. When I started teaching, the number increased to 35. In 2014, the same year I started the streak and was knee-deep in marathon training, I upped the total to 40. Last year, 2017, I settled on 45. And yes, this year the number was 50, bringing my yearly total (barring any catastrophes in the next two weeks, knock on wood) to around 2600 miles.

I know at some point these numbers will inevitably plateau. You can’t improve forever. As I get older, creakier, and more susceptible to injury, my goals will need to be tempered and adjusted. But, you can quote me right now, I want to hit 3,000 miles in a year before that happens. It probably won’t be in 2019 or 2020, but someday. I would need to average 57.5 miles per week to do it, which evens out to about 8 hours per week. It’s just far enough out there to seem daunting, but not impossible.

Will this lead to any radical changes in my fitness or appearance? Probably not. I’m sure I’ll consume just enough calories in food and beer to make up for the uptick in endurance. But it’s not always about fitness or wellness or mental health or losing weight. Sometimes it’s just the dumb challenge. And yes, the dumb challenge will invariably improve all of those other aforementioned issues. Which is why distance running remains the best sport / hobby / social activity / etc. / etc. in existence. The truth is in the numbers.

Happy Running.