I didn’t realize it until I dug into my historical running data but it had been quite a few years since I had run 2,000 miles in a year. While I have run a lot of events or months with bigger mileage, there were plenty of months with much smaller numbers. So, here is a look back at the year 2023 for me in running and why it was my best running year ever!
Running 2,000 Miles in 2023
Before we get to the best parts of the year, because I am a data lover, I just want to break down some of the numbers that my Garmin Connect dashboard gave me on running in 2023.
- Runs – 273
- Total Distance – 2,000.6 miles
- Average Distance – 7.33 miles
- Longest Distance – 102.17 miles
- Total Time Running – 316 hours, 43 minutes
- Calories Burned in Running – 264,938 Calories
- Total Ascent – 35,521 feet
- Average Heart Rate – 139bpm
So, there you have it! Here is the breakdown by month.
TL:DR – What made this my best running year ever wasn’t the things like running my fastest 50 miler or running my first 100 miler – it was the fact that all my kids started wanting to run with me! It’s like a dream to have my kids enjoy doing something with me like this!
January
22 runs | 137 miles
January and February were rough months for running. We were moving from where we had lived in Greece for a while back to New York so that meant a ton of work in wrapping things up in Greece as well as packing. I did a lot of “last” runs on some of my main courses but I didn’t have that much time for running.
Still, it was pretty nice running next to the seaside in January with mid-50 temperatures!
February
11 runs | 68 miles
As I said, February was a pretty light month! We traveled right in the middle of the month (thanks to a variety of issues, it took us 51 hours to get from Greece to New York!) and took a bit getting settled. Still, was nice to get the last minute runs in before departing.
Great to run with some awesome friends as well!
March
24 runs | 194 miles
At the end of February, I made the decision to run the Sulphur Springs 100K trail race in Hamilton, Ontario. I had run the 50 miler there about 13 years before and wanted to go back for the 100K (62 miles). This came along at the same time that I won the opportunity to be personally coached by one of the greatest mountain/ultra runners of all time – Kilian Jornet.
It was really cold and snowy but I made sure I got out there and got the miles in.
April
15 runs | 143 miles
April got a bit difficult for me. The weather got nicer, the workouts got more intense – but I developed some heel tendonitis so it slowed me down a bit. I did everything I could to keep the fitness but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hit the goal I had.
But, my wife and I went away to Jamaica for a few days so it was nice to run around Jamaica a bit! 🙂
May
18 runs | 185 miles
The end of May was my 100K trail race but my heel kept giving me problems. I was also feeling sick the day before but since it was only a 2 hour drive away, we went up the nice before and I decided to just start and see how it went. The laps were 12.5 miles each so I figured I would at least see if I could do 25 miles.
I ended up pulling at 37.5 miles as my heel pain was intensifying. If I had signed up for the 50 miler, I probably would have just slugged it out but I decided to pull rather than spend an estimated 6 more hours our there and away from my wife and kids and have pain all along the way. It took me 8 hours to do the 37.5 miles with 4,800 feet of elevation gain.
One of the cool things about training for ultra marathons is the distances run in training. In the photo below, I did a point-to-point run that took me 22 miles and it was a beautiful run!
June
18 runs | 99 miles
Due to how my heel was, I took some time off running and slowed up a bit. Also, I was on a 9 day trip to Dubai, Jerusalem, and Greece and most of it was very busy. Right after getting back, I had another trip to Ohio that had me in meetings from 8:30 to 8:30 every day so had to squeeze some runs in earlier in the day.
It was great to meet up with and run with one of my dearest friends while I was in Greece again so that was awesome. We have covered well over 1,000 miles together over the years and each run has been an absolute joy.
July
22 runs | 150 miles
In July, I started trying to build up my base again to take on my longest race ever – a 100 mile trail race in November. I knew I had to build slowly because of my injury and the build-up went very well.
August
28 runs | 182 miles
August continued to help me build up but I also had to make a quick weekend trip back to Greece towards the end of it. Nothing like running in 100 degree sunshine! On the way back, I had an overnight layover in Zurich so, of course, I took off the next morning before my flight to run a few miles. It was raining and cool but the countryside was beautiful!
September
21 runs | 192 miles
September was supposed to be the month I was really ramping up the longer runs (I would do back-to-back runs of like 16-20 miles on a Friday and then Saturday, in addition to the runs the rest of the week). However, it was back on the road – or, rather, back in the air – as my wife and I had to head back to Europe. We visited Canary Islands, Vienna, Romania, and Greece in just 9 days – and we got some food infection along the way which made the last three days horrible. 🙂
Canary Islands – very hilly!
Vienna!
Brasov, Romania
Thessaloniki, Greece
October
32 runs | 239 miles
October was the month of my 50 mile race. This was the first time in over a decade that I would run this far and it was on a very hilly course! With rain! 🙂 But, it was so beautiful! I approached it slower because I wanted to treat it like a training run for my 100 miler but I was actually able to pick up the pace over the final 20 miles to move up several positions and finish just over 10 hours. I knew I had a lot left in the tank (the last mile was 9:20 pace) but I was glad to have been able to run the race with no problems.
Canandaigua Lake 50 miler
Another part of my build-up in October was that I was doing late night runs. I would do like 12-15 miles early Friday morning, work all day, spend the evening with my family, and then head out around midnight for another 12 miles or so. I would then do another 10-12 miles in the morning.
This is a very busy road – during the day!
I grew to really like the late night runs! To this day, there are times that I will just feel like heading out around midnight for a 5-7 mile run. It is so quiet and still! I will probably keep this up for quite a while.
November
30 runs | 235 miles
My first 100 mile race was early November – and it went far better than I could have thought! This was another race where I knew that I could have finished much faster but I was being very cautious because I wanted to finish rather than blow out. But, I felt very good at the end – I know, that sounds weird to say I felt “very good” at the end of running 100 miles for 26 hours! But, it was the truth! It was an absolutely fantastic race staff and crew as well! Read more about it here.
Around mile 40 of the Mamba 100 mile race
Seeing my crew member at mile 42
But, the best race of November was the Buffalo Turkey Trot – the oldest, continually run race in the world. That fact isn’t what made it the best but it was the fact that I was able to run it with my daughter!
This is what made 2023 my favorite running year ever. All 5 of our children started running with me throughout the fall/winter (our youngest was just 3 so her running was to run all out for 1/4 mile and then say “I’m tired – can you carry me” – but I will still take it all day!)
Our kids are 15, 14, 12, and 8 (and the now-4 year old) and they all really started enjoying running this year – and they all love running with me! But, I love it so much more than they do!
Post-run photos with 4 of my kids on the same day – one at a time!
It is such a great thing to spend time with my kids in anyway but doing it while running has been a great bonding experience for us. They enjoy setting goals and hitting them and I love doing it with them and seeing them enjoy what they do.
Post run photo with the youngest – impromptu run!
On Thanksgiving Day, I ran my our oldest daughter in the race – her farthest race yet and our first race together. One of our sons ran with his uncle and our oldest ran on his own. They all did great, in spite of the very windy conditions and we all had a great time!
Post race photo
One of the cool things is that my daughter wanted to virtually run with me on the last 2 miles of my 100 miler. So, she was up and ready when I called to say I was just finishing mile 97 and she went out and ran it “with” me from New York while I was on the course in Tennessee. It was such a thrill and special for me to think about – and it really pushed me in my finish.
I had several great things in running this year but the best by far was running with my kids and having them ask me if we can go out for a run together. Love it!
December
32 runs | 172 miles
December – I didn’t expect to run much because of the busyness and cold but when I saw how close I was to 2,000 miles for the year, I went out and got it done. And, of course, many of the runs did happen with my kids. 🙂
If you made it all the way down here, that is some serious reading! 🙂 This post is mostly for me to recount the memories of the year and have something to look back to so thanks for coming along on this little journey through 2023! It was definitely my best running year yet and not just because I finally ran a 100 miler! Doing so many runs with my kids has been fantastic and we have some nice races planned for this year – my oldest daughter even wants to run a marathon!
