On June 2nd, 2019 I ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. In doing so I completed my goal of running twelve marathons in twelve months.

Since my very first marathon in 2009 I’ve averaged three to four marathons a year. But I got it in my head that I wanted to hit a marathon goal. Loftier than some marathoners, not as ambitious as others. I had the idea some years ago, and I talked to a few hardcore marathoners about this potential goal. One fellow, who had run more than one hundred marathons, told me that if I did attempt such a long-term feat, I should treat every marathon as a training run for the next. I followed his advice, running each marathon easy, running at “just finish” paces with modest time expectations.

I did have reservations about trying out this goal due to time and money considerations, but then I thought if I didn’t try it sooner rather than later I might regret it. And honestly, I was spurred on by a Calgary Marathon DNF in May of 2018 where I had an ambitious time goal, but was knocked out of the race by severe dehydration. (It’s really dry up there!)

I will admit to being slightly superstitious about this challenge. I told very few people I was attempting it, because I felt being too loud about it would jinx it. So sue me. It’s probably the sports fan in me that decided not to be too boisterous about it!

Here’s a breakdown of all twelve of my marathons in the last year:

San Francisco Marathon

I run San Francisco every year, either the half or the full. This was the third year in a row that I ran the full, and the sixth SF Marathon for me overall. (It was also my very first marathon back in 2009!) Since this is a regular run, I decided to make it my first of twelve. I am super familiar with the course, and it was a pretty hum drum marathon. For me anyways. The one noticeable incident occurred when my neighbor texted me while I was running across the Golden Gate Bridge, asking me if I could let his cat in. “Sorry. Can’t. Running San Francisco Marathon.”

Humboldt Bay Marathon

This was, at the time, the smallest marathon I had ever run. I believe there were only 112 marathoners. The pacers almost equaled the number of runners. Small yet well-organized, I wrote a whole run report about this race. Humboldt Bay was also my first August marathon, and also the first time I ever ran a marathon on my birthday! It was also the shortest amount of time for me between two marathons, only two weeks! I did hit the wall pretty hard early in this race, since I was still recovering from San Francisco, but I did all right overall. Best part of the race: I mentioned to a young woman in the race that it was my birthday. Later on she outpaced me, and when I came up to a water stop, all of the volunteers threw up their arms and shouted “Happy birthday!”

Marin Headlands Trail Marathon

This was my first ever trail marathon. All of my previous marathons were pretty much road marathons. One or two had a trail interludes, but most of my career’s marathon miles were pounding pavement. I didn’t run this marathon so much as I hiked most of it. The inclines were the most extreme of any marathon I’ve ever run. Fortunately there was also an ultra marathon happening at the same time, so I had a generous amount of time to complete what would definitely be my slowest marathon time ever. Of all twelve marathons this was, by far, the most physically challenging. The only time my legs had ever been that sore was after my first ever marathon.

Chicago Marathon

Fortunately I was pretty well recovered from my trail marathon ordeal for my second ever Chicago Marathon. I did experience one malady that definitely slowed me down: The bottoms of my feet were aching really bad, starting around mile eight and getting progressively worse. Around mile twenty I stopped to smear Biofreeze all over the bottoms of my feet, which didn’t really help all that much. I was really limping around for the rest of the day after this marathon, but strangely enough my feet felt fine the next day. No pain! I even walked all over the Natural History Museum the day after.

New York Virtual Marathon

I guess this is the smallest marathon I’ve ever run, because I ran it all by my lonesome. I’ve run a few virtual races before, but this was definitely a first for me. Running around my usual long run route by the Bay Trail and Berkeley’s Aquatic park, I kept my Strava on as well as a Garmin for a backup, just in case something wacky happened to my Strava. I have to say, it is a lot easier to run a marathon when you have runners around you. Without the herd around me, I had to push myself more than usual for my 26.2.

California International Marathon

I run this marathon every year, so this was a hum drumish hike for me. I did all right, running an okay time. The weather for this one was perfect though, so there was that. Of my twelve marathons, this was the least memorable, probably because I’ve run it so many times before, and I wasn’t experiencing any problems with tightness or pain. And nothing of especially serious or amusing note ever happened along the course. Just another marathon! 

Walt Disney World Marathon

One of my favorite marathons, it’s always fun, and also a marathon you really need to just take your time with. So crowded you could never keep your pace, and so much fun stuff along the course. (Pic taking marathon!) The thing is, I did the Dopey Challenge in the previous two years. At the start line I was surrounded by Dopey runners who were doing there fourth race in four days, and I was all “I’m just doing the marathon”. Felt like a wimp, I did!

Buzz Marathon, Camp Roberts, San Miguel

Humboldt Bay had been my smallest (Non virtual) marathon ever, until I ran this one. They had several races going such as a 10K and a Half, but the marathon only had twenty three runners! Running around Camp Roberts, it was quite rural, though on the base we were running by old tanks and army barracks. The beginning was interesting, because ground level fog blanketed the ground, and we couldn’t see more than twenty yards ahead of us. I said to a young woman running alongside me, “I feel like someone’s going to jump out and attack me at any moment.” Without missing a beat she said confidently, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you!” 

Oakland Marathon

I also run the Oakland Marathon Running festival every year, but almost always the half. I had not run the full in years. The legendary back-breaking hill course had changed to a run around West Oakland and downtown Oakland, and most of the course was pretty flat, with a run out onto the Bay Bridge’s new walkway. I was a little surprised at how few marathoners there were. I believe there were a lot more 26.2ers in the earlier years. I did see one older fellow whom I had seen at several other marathons. I introduced myself, mentioning that I had seen him around at other races, and he told me he had run more than 200 marathons! (Next goal???)

Eugene Marathon

Quite a nice marathon. Lots of nice people on the course, beautiful and easy course, and really good weather, But the best part: The finish line was on the fifty yard line of the Oregon Duck’s stadium. When I came running in, I was the only runner showing up at the moment. I looked up and saw myself on the Jumbotron, being tracked as if I were a football player returning a punt. I was all “Woohoo!” as the finish line volunteers cheered me on. Most epic marathon finish ever!

Surfer’s Path Marathon, Santa Cruz

Oh what fun this marathon was. It was raining quite hard when it started. Around mile three we were treated to, not only thunder, but bolts of lightning as well! And then the rain started to hurt. That’s when I realized it was hail! The first time I’ve ever run through hail!! And if that weren’t crazy enough, the sun came out and it started to get warm shortly after all of that extreme weather. At least it didn’t snow!

San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon

My last marathon in this quest, a mere two weeks after Surfer’s Path and just five weeks after Eugene. I did struggle with some soreness in my left foot as I ran, but a quick visit to a med tent for a big blob of Ben Gay and some taping and I was able to run steadily again. Some people felt this course was rather difficult. I can honestly say that, while it wasn’t easy, it definitely wasn’t one of the most difficult courses I’ve ever had to conquer. (SF, Oakland, Marin Headlands, and a few others are tougher!)  Great spirit at this marathon though. Lots of costumes, bands, outdoor bars offering shots of whiskey alongside beer, and a memorial mile for fallen soldiers!

One pic from each of my twelve races: