Some of us are goal setters, people who like to map out our days, our weeks, our months, and our years.
Others are more spontaneous, making few plans but jumping into action whenever the mood strikes.
Runners fall into both categories, with many having long-term goals, plans for great races, and long-term goals that adjust as the year progresses. Some of those goals are impressive: When Eileen Villa Marks of Hebron turned 50 this year, she decided she wanted to race 50 half- or full marathons while in her 50s. She’s well on her way.
Others are seeking to run as many miles as the year — that would be 2,016 miles in 2016. Some plan to run a marathon a month.
Our friend, Harvey Lewis of Cincinnati, perhaps the area’s greatest long-distance runner, he of Badwater fame — the 2014 winner of the 135-mile run across the roads through Death Valley, in July — is planning to take part in the Marathon des Sables in April. For the uninitiated, that’s translated as the marathon of the sands, a six-day, 156-mile run across the Sahara Desert. Where there are no roads.
Of course, there are people whose goals are adjusted hourly.
“I just love to run,”said Tammy Alverson, who lives in Maineville, Ohio. “I guess making sure I always have a race I’ve registered for on the horizon keeps me motivated, but I wouldn’t call that ‘goal setting.’ I suppose I set immediate goals, like going out for a run and planning on eight or 10 miles, but revising it as I go, by doing six miles or 12 miles — it depends on how I feel when I get out there.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Todd Spille of Edgewood said goals are what make running fun.
“It is part of my competitive nature,” he said. “I know my goals for 2015 were to beat all my race times of various distances from 2014, which I did. Going forward in 2016 I plan to beat all my 2015 times. As long as a stay healthy, I know my goals will always be attainable.”
Because this is a column about goals in 2016, I’ll start off with some of mine. First of all, I plan to lose some weight, so I can run faster and longer. My first goal race is the Flying Pig half-marathon — in my years of running, I have never raced the Flying Pig, and it’s time to run the big hometown race.
My second big race will be the Run Under The Stars in Paducah, which involves running around a half-mile horse track for 10 hours, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. I am hoping this will wind up being not only my first marathon, but my first ultra-marathon, and I plan to complete between 31 and 35 miles.
Over the year, I am planning to run 2,016 kilometers, in 2016. Why kilometers? Well, they are shorter than miles, so a year’s worth of kilometers is 1,252.68 miles. That’s still more than 100 miles per month. Possible. I think.
But enough about me. What goals have others set?
“To run again,” said Corine LeMaster Pitts of Erlanger, who has been out with various injuries for a few weeks. “At this point, it is my only goal.”
Greg Wallace, of Edgewood, who is a coach in his running group at Tri State Running Company, has some simple yet evocative goals: “Do more (miles mostly). Do better (faster, one more interval or repeat). Do different (added trail running recently, eyeing a fall ultra-marathon). And I’m trying my best to pass on the wisdom, knowledge, and passion that has been passed on to me over the years. Coaching helps me realize that last one, and it may be more personally gratifying than the others.”
Yana Duke of Cincinnati said she plans to buckle down at last and follow a routine on her weekly runs.
“My goal is to concentrate on consistency,” she said. “Instead of running for the sake of running, I actually now make weekly goals. … Having a routine was never my strong suit, but I am really making it my goal this training season.”
Having goals is important for Emily Schilling of Cold Spring.
“I am a goal setter in daily life and especially in running,” she said. “It gives me something to work for and something to measure progress. I have had a goal of qualifying for Boston the past four marathons, but it keeps eluding me.
“I also set three goals for every race. The third tier is the goal you set based on how training is going and what is actually possible to accomplish. The second tier is the goal you set if everything were to go right on race day. And the first tier is the goal you keep to yourself. The goal that if you could have your best race ever, you would achieve this goal.”
Some goals, however, are meant to be pushed.
“When I started running last February, my goal was to run a 5K on the treadmill without dying,” said Andrea Robinson. “When that got easy, I made a goal to run a sub two-hour half marathon. Three sub-two-hour halfs later, and I made a goal to run a full marathon.
“I’ll let you know if I hit that goal next month. … And if I do, I suppose my next goal will be speed related. I’m not going further than 26.2!”
To which her friend, Brian Barclay of Independence, fired back: “So you say now.”
To which Robinson responded: “I’ll be shocked if I finish my marathon in the upright position. Even more shocked if I choose to do it again, let alone run even further.
“That’s just crazy talk.”
She says now.
Paul Long writes weekly for the NKyTribune about running and runners. For his daily running stories, follow him at dailymile.com or on Twitter @Pogue57