Looking back on 2024 I realize that I ran more races than I thought I had.

In running we have a way of really focusing oin a our big goals. That “A” race we spent all year targeting and train gin for. Did we hit that goal.

It is really easy to lose sight of everything else we did that year. This can be especially true if our big goals doen’t come to fruition as we had envisioned. I was able to complete my goal and I still lost sight of all the other fun I had this year.

So many miles spent with friends. Getting healthy. Making plans and meeting up for runs. Getting down to Wellsboro to run with the Tioga running Club tribe as often as I could. Starting to got to regular group runs at our local running club, the Southern Teir Running Club.

There were so many miles and smiles.

I spent most of this year rebuilding my base as I came back from an injury that kept me from running all of last summer. So the begging was a lot of erasing back into it and running winter miles with friends at our regular meet ups. Getting back into he flow of running felt good but was a very strange feeling as it was obvious I couldn’t do what I used to. At least not yet. But that was the goal. Run an ultra marathon for the first time in two years.

The year started with my friends and I completing the FLRC Challenge put on by the Finger Lakes Running Club. This is a fun virtual event where the club lays out a variety of courses and your job is to complete them over the course of the year. You can go at your own pace. You can run each course as fast or slow as you want. All you have to do is finish it. And you can run them as many times as you want. They also have a fun leaderboard set up so you can compete with other runners on a variety of categories that make it so much fun.

In April I ran the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon. This has become an annual tradition for me. I think I have run every edition since 2017. I was thinking of sitting this years event out, but they announced a new course for the event and that sparked an interest in me to run it again.

Segahunda Trail Relay

In late spring I found myself back at one of my favorite events, Sehgahund Trail Relay. This event always means a good time and I am always with friends. Participating in a relay event can be so much fun. And spending time on trails in the woods is a great way to make it even better.

Taking turns with my friends to covere the distance on some muddy trails. It never disappoints. The trails are notorious for having some of the worst mud I have ever seen. And this year was more of the same. Maybe the worst it has ever been.

Many On The Genny

My big goal for the year was to run the Many on the Genny ultra marathon. Training was going in the right direction. I focused on consistency and staying healthy. No really big long runs and not too many miles each week. My longest runs prior to Many on the Genny were half marathons. This included running a race I had always wanted to run but never gotten around to, the Montezuma Half Marathon. The race went really well and I was feeling confident in my training.

Running Many on the Genny was amazing. It delivered on everything I was hoping for. A return to doing things that scare me and push my boundaries. I really wasn’t sure I would be able to do it as I slowly made my way back. But having the opportunity to run around one of my favorite places, Letchworth State Park made it so worth it.

I have been visiting Letchworth State Park for years, but I never get to see all the trails I want to explore. Running Many on the Genny was the prefect way to see more of this park. The Race Director and the volunteers made it a great experience.

The race was hard and challenged me in so many ways. This race happens in the summer and running in the heat never goes well for me. But it is something that I need to learn how to manage so that I can continue to reach for bigger goals I have set for the future.

Rise and Run

Really, who doesn’t want to wake up and run at 4 am.

That was the whole premise for Rise and Run 50k put on by the Tioga Runnign Club. Get up early in the morning so you can run a 50k and still have time to do things the rest of the day.

This event scared me more than my “A” goal race. It didn’t scare me in a “can I even do this?” way. I knew I could cover the 50k distance. But the time cutoff was 8 hours. I had never run a 50k like this that fast. I told the RD every time I saw him that I would never finish in time. But he always encouraged me to show up and try anyway.

The race was an out and back. And when I reached the aid station at the turn around well over the time I needed to in order to have any shot at finishing within the cut off and strongly hinting that I could just end my day here and now, the volunteers there would not let me quit. They insisted that I get back out on the trail and give it my best.

I ended up finishing the distance. I was 2 hours over the finish cut off. So officially it was a DNF, but I covered the ground. And the whole Tioga Running Club crew was still at the finish line hanging out and waiting for me. And they stayed and hung out with me after I finished. This is what trail and ultra running is all about.

Mighty Mosquito 99 Relay

If you like running, and friends, and camping then the Mighty Mosquito 99 Relay might be for you. At Mighty Mosquito the goal is to run 99 miles between your six teammates.

This event has so many aspects going for it. It takes place at a beautiful park, Mendon Ponds park near Rochester, New York. All the loops start and end in the same place. This allows you and your friends to set up one central location to hang out have fun and enjoy the day, and the night together. If the timing works out right you might get to run at sunset and sunrise. I think I did get to see one of those on the run and it was a cool experience.

This is a Summer event. And somehow it always seems to be one of the hottest and stickiest days of the year. So getting “stuck with the early morning and late evening runs can actually be a blessing in disguise. The first lap I ran felt like the worst. In the mid day heat and humidity. Everything after that felt so much better.

Green Monster 15k

Another of my favorite events that I return to is the Green Monster Trail Challenge. The Green Monster Trail Challenge is hosted by the Tyoga Running Club and features three distances, a 15k, a 25k, and a 50k. I have run both the 15k and the 25k multiple times. My goal is to run the 50k in the near future.

Last year, the first time I ran the 15k I managed to get off course and addd in some bonus miles. I am happy to report that this year I successfully followed the course markings and completed the course without any extra mileage.

I love this event. It takes place on some of my favorite trails, the Green Monster trail system in Pennsylvania. This is a truly challenging event. You start off with a climb that lasts for over a mile. And that arguably is the easy part.

This year it rained and stormed the entire time. Thankfully it wasn’t particularly cold. The rain was pretty tolerable. There were a few times when the wind would pick up and I had a chill run through me. But, honestly I don’t mind running in the rain. I would rather run in the rain than in the heat.

One of my favorite aspects of this course is Frankenstein’s Forehead. A feature so named because it is a speed decent, like I have yet to encounter elsewhere. You drop down front the middle of a forest into a creek bed. The trail is extremely technical and consists mostly of loose and crumbling shale. This year the rain made it even more challenging. And Frankenstein’s Forehead fought back as I took my first tumble on the tough terrain.

The forests and surrounding landscapes are beautiful. It is one of those places that I never get back to as often as I would like.

Mendon Trail Run 30k

I added in a new to me race at the end of the season. Almost on a whim I signed up for the Mendon Trail Run. The event features a 10k loop that you can choose from to run from 1 to 5 times. I split it right down the middle and ran the 30k version. I wanted to do something hard but not too hard.

I went out way faster than I should have. The first lap felt really good. But the pace I put in was way too fast to sustain. I was really struggling by my third lap. But I got. It done.

This was the first time I have been to Mendon Ponds twice in the same year. I keep saying I want to go there more. I would really like to go- there to just relax and enjoy the scenery and take pictures, but apparently I will only go there if there is a race to be run.

I am looking forward to all the fun, smiles, and miles 2025 has in store for me.

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