In 2012, I ran 3 marathons, a 200-mile relay race, 4 half-marathons, a 10-miler, a 5-miler, an obstacle race and 3 5ks.

In 2012, I ran 1,407 miles. That’s a 28 percent increase from last year (1,098 miles). On average, I ran 3.85 miles per day.

Here’s how I did for my 2012 goals:

• Complete a half marathon in under 2 hours ✓ I did this only once, at Race the Runways, with a time of 1:55:12  
• Finish 2 or more marathons ✓ I finished three! Sugarloaf, Maine Marathon and MDI.
• Run a 5K on a certified course in under 26 minutes ✓ I did this twice, at Finish Enily’s Run  in March (24:42), and at the Jingle Bell 5K in December (24:12).
• Compete in a triathlon.  It never made sense this year with my running goals. If I’m going to pay for it I want to really work towards it.
• Ride at least one more century on the bike. I wish I did this, but again, it never fit in with my running goals.  My longest ride this year was 27 miles, and at 276 miles cycled, my distance was on par with 2011.

Best race experience? This is tough, because I had a lot of great and different kinds of races. I loved the challenge of the Tough Mountain Challenge obstacle course race. I loved the camaraderie of Reach the Beach.

After handing off to Jill on my last leg. Good times trump good photos … sure?

The 5-miler around Peaks Island was FUN. And a different kind of race day … we had to take a boat to get to the race!

Mary, Wanda, Jen and Pattie on the boat headed over to Peaks Island in Portland.

But I think my very favorite race experience this year was the Lake Auburn Half Marathon.

Me and Bob at the Lake Auburn Half Marathon, around mile 6.

It was just such a nice course. And I would know, because I run it often! I knew many of the people at the race. It was like a celebration of an awesome Track Club year. I made a new friend, Bob, and I hope he did awesome on his first marathon this year.

That race was about one of things I love the most about running: Great people coming together in a celebration of health. 🙂

The quote I included in that post so describes the way I feel about this year:

“Running is not, as it so often seems, only about what you did in your last race or about how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by other runners, too.”

–Richard O’Brien

Best run? The run before the Lake Auburn Half Marathon, 8 miles to the starting line, was a decent contender. Nothing feels great like putting out a decent race when you don’t have the pressure to do well.

Another contender: the 18-miler I ran on my own on a Monday morning before work. It just gave me my mojo back because running long alone is really hard. And then to do it before work and function like a normal person all day? Yeah, I was in a new league of running this year.

But those are both runs alone, and I don’t think I could say my favorite run this year was one alone. So I will vote for the 12 miles I ran with my brother John in San Diego after Finish Emily’s Run. We ran all the way down the boardwalk and I saw people doing yoga on a beautiful cliff overlooking the sea and I was so happy to spend time in a beautiful place with my family. 🙂

The view of that run in San Diego by Dog Beach.

Best new piece of gear? At the Sugarloaf Marathon, I needed another pouch on my fuel belt to hold both the gels and my iPhone. Serendipitously the mountain was selling these camera bags that were the perfect size and shape to add onto my belt to hold my phone.

Yes, I know that this looks super dorky. No, I don’t care.

I’m glad they were, because otherwise I would have had no gels or no music for the run! It’s been super useful, I don’t know how I went to long with a 1-pocket belt.

Best piece of running advice you received? Hmm. That’s a tough one. A really tough one.

But this seems most applicable to my race experiences this year:

Most inspirational runner? Hands down, my friend Matt from college. Matt’s first race was in April, and he hadn’t even run more than a mile in January.

Matt in his first 5K last April.

I was going back through my photos for this blog and I thought, holy shit, Matt has changed that much just since April?!

Matt, on the left, in September of this year.

He also has already run a sub-25 5K  in less than a year of running. We’re jealous of you over here, Matt. 🙂 We think you need to join the marathon club in 2013.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Every step builds on the next one. The momentum I gained when I started running in 2011 is was what carried me through 2012.