My goal this year is to run 2009KMs. 2009 in 2009. I’ve never tracked total mileage before, not even week by week. When I tell people my goal they seem terribly impressed (although I may be misinterpreting disinterest), but 2009K in one year averages out to less than 40K a week. The mileage is completely reasonable for someone planning to run two marathons and maybe another ultramarathon in 2009, even though I typically only run three times per week. Despite a week long vacation from running in January, so far I’m on track to meet my goal.
My 2009 in 2009 goal started out as this new year’s resolutioner’s attempt to devise a creative new running challenge. Recently I’ve been thinking about what the distance actually represents in terms of real-world distance. So, I decided to see how far across Canada I would get if I actually ran 2009K, starting in middle-Canada and heading for the coast. A virtual run to add some perspective to my runner’s logbook. Turns out I would get as far as the eastern point of Nova Scotia where I would dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean, but I wouldn’t be able to island hop over to Newfoundland and Labrador. Westbound I hardly seem to move across the map, getting only as far as Winnipeg, nary an ocean in sight. Perhaps though a refreshing dip in Lake Winnipeg, the 11th largest fresh water lake in the word, would be a decent consolation prize.
My virtual run really puts the remarkable cross-Canada running feats in perspective. In just 142 days Terry Fox ran 5373K from St. John’s NS to Thunder Bay ON during his Marathon of Hope. The Run for the Planet duo are aiming to log 17,700K across Canada and the US to inspire environmental action. Suddenly 2009K doesn’t sound so daunting.
Maybe it’s not “daunting,” but it is certainly an impressive goal! And will be quite the feat. (Ha!)