I have always had a knack for remembering things. Usually, it is the most random details, what we had to eat or what I was wearing on a specific day. Hear a song once, and I am ready to sing it word for word. Trivia has always come easily to me. Hopefully, one day I can put that to use on Jeopardy.
But at times it can come back to bite me. Sometimes I don't write something down because I think I will remember it. Other times, I forget instructions from Katie, which is admittedly much worse. My memory has served me well over the years, but even it has its limits.
Over the past seven years, I have gone on nearly 1,800 runs and covered almost 11,000 miles. For someone who remembers almost everything, it is surprising how few of those runs I can actually recall. Some were highlights, some were lowlights, and plenty were completely unremarkable. Every one of them helped get me where I am today, but only a handful still live vividly in my memory. Those are the ones where I can instantly go back to that moment. I remember the smell in the air, how I was feeling, and sometimes almost every step.
Early December in Mobile typically means high humidity. That was certainly the case at the 2023 Reindeer Run 5K. Cloudy skies and a thickness in the air you could cut with a knife. Not exactly ideal conditions for your first 5K, which just happened to be the case for Ellis. Dean got the stroller seat. I was a little jealous.
Ellis had trained for weeks and was ready to go. Katie was ready to push Dean over the 3.1 miles. Our first 5K as a family. Ellis took off like a rocket despite my best efforts to slow him down. By mile one, he was ready to be done. It took a lot of patience from me and a lot of guts from him not to quit. We listened to Christmas music on my phone to get his mind off things. Katie and Dean finished before us. I believe their race was a little more by the book. Katie even placed in her age group while pushing the stroller.
Ellis finished his first 5K strong. Somehow, he beat me. I still have yet to beat either of my boys in a race. It was hot, it was humid, and we looked like we had just climbed out of a swimming pool, but it was perfect. Being surrounded by my family while they did something I love and they simply tolerate meant more than any finish time. Thankfully, I have not completely ruined running for them because they have raced since then.
I am fortunate to have two brothers who find my running impressive. Somehow, I also had the privilege of helping both of them complete their first 10Ks at the Azalea Trail Run.
Paul was first in 2023. He bought the shoes, downloaded Strava, and was all in. After a couple of training runs, life and work got busy, and his training quickly went by the wayside. Fortunately, Paul is a landscaper. He spends long days outside maintaining lawns, so his job ended up being better training than I realized.
I remember it being exceptionally warm and humid for the race. We had a simple strategy. Two minutes running, one minute walking. Around halfway, his feet started bothering him, but he kept it moving. As the race went on, I quietly stretched our running intervals a little longer than planned. Paul was none the wiser. He was hurting, but he was locked in. We finished with a sprint to the line. I was one proud big brother.
Two years later, it was Matthew's turn. Matthew and I are a lot alike, especially when it comes to our personalities. Katie jokes that we communicate in mumbled grunts but somehow know exactly what the other is saying. His training consisted almost entirely of treadmill miles, a fate I would not wish on anyone, but he stuck with it and showed up ready to race.
This time, we had the perfect Azalea Trail weather. Cold enough to make you excited to start running. Matthew wanted to run by feel. We would walk when he needed to and run when he felt good. Somewhere during those 6.2 miles, we probably talked more than we had in years. Who knew we were capable of complete sentences? Like Paul, his feet started giving him trouble, but he kept pushing forward. Over the final half mile, he took off. I stayed back and let him have his moment. Once again, I was a proud big brother, watching someone I love accomplish something they had never done before.
I love the marathon. It is my second favorite distance behind the 50K. How lucky was I that the London Marathon just happened to fall during the trip Katie and I had already planned for our tenth anniversary? Even luckier was the fact that she was completely on board with me spending part of that trip running 26.2 miles.
The race was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Running shoulder to shoulder with thousands of runners through one of the most iconic cities in the world, while crowds lined nearly every mile, is something I will never forget. It was a little warmer than I had hoped, so I missed my overall goal, but I still walked away with a marathon PR.
As incredible as the race was, my favorite moment came after it was over. Crossing the finish line and finding Katie waiting for me somehow topped everything I had just experienced over the previous 26.2 miles.
You can read a more detailed recap on the blog page.
Fun fact. I was born on Thanksgiving. I always joke with Katie that my birthday never gets the attention it deserves because it falls during Thanksgiving week. Truthfully, I probably would not want that attention anyway. My birthdays have always been pretty low-key. Last year, though, I wanted to do something a little bigger. Naturally, it revolved around running.
I had grand plans of running over 100 miles around Mobile Bay, and at one point even considered running from downtown Mobile to Dauphin Island. Neither proved to be particularly practical. Instead, I mapped out a 38-mile route beginning at the University of South Alabama, winding through many of my favorite parts of Mobile, looping downtown, and finishing back where I started.
Since it was the day before Thanksgiving, I was not sure if anyone would be able to join me. I could not have been more wrong.
Corey and Jim met me at the start. David and Allison even showed up before sunrise just to take a pre-run picture. Corey and Jim stayed with me through campus and into Spring Hill before heading home. Emily and Steven joined me next as we made our way through Spring Hill. Eventually, I found myself alone until I reached downtown, where Katie, the boys, and CC were waiting with water, snacks, and encouragement. They bounced from checkpoint to checkpoint all day, making sure I kept moving.
Later, Grey and Peyton joined me for a few miles through downtown. Peyton even got to witness me trip over the cracked sidewalks of downtown Mobile. They are more dangerous than most trails around here. One of the biggest surprises came when Erica appeared holding a Happy Birthday sign along with some much-needed fuel. I saw Katie and the boys a few more times before spending the final ten miles grinding it out on my own. Matthew even tried to find me for a few miles, but we just missed each other.
It turned into one of my favorite birthdays I have ever had. Not because I ran 38 miles, but because so many people chose to spend part of their day helping me celebrate. Stay tuned to see what I have planned for number 39.
When I started writing this blog, I thought it was going to be about the runs I remembered. Somewhere along the way it became about the people I remembered.
I have always considered myself a solo runner. Most days, it is just me, my thoughts, and the road. Yet when I looked back at the runs that have stayed with me, almost none of them were truly solo.
They were about Ellis finishing his first 5K. They were about helping my brothers accomplish something they had never done before. They were about finding Katie after 26.2 miles through London. They were about friends giving up part of their day to share a few miles with me on my birthday.
There are plenty of other runs I could have written about. My very first run. My first run after Bobby passed away. The freezing 50K with Clint and Sean. None of those memories are defined by my pace, the distance, or where I finished. They are defined by the people who were part of them.
Every run has helped shape the runner I am today, even the thousands I cannot remember. But the ones that have stayed with me all have one thing in common. They remind me that while I may spend most of my miles running alone, I have never made this journey alone. My family, my friends, and this incredible running community have been there through every chapter. Maybe that is what I have really been remembering all along.