Running Through the Years (Part 4 - Today)

(This is the last story in a four-part series covering fun, friends, and fashion over my 40 years of running.)

Part 1 - my (faster) teenage (younger) years. Link to the story: Running Through the Years (Part 1)

Part 2 - my young adulting runs and Omaha Running Club years. Link to the story: Running Through the Years (Part 2)

Part 3 - working mom, joining the Early Morning Milers, and my marathon year. Link to the story: Running Through the Years (Part 3)

Part 4 of my running story spans 2019 through Today….

I left my parents’ home in the dark, ready to begin a race with a two-mile running loop.

This is how my running adventures began forty years ago: out the back door of my parents’ Iowa home to run my two-mile route, beginning and ending in the alley behind our garage. Young and dumb, I almost always ran in the dark of night.

Today, I am no longer a teenager and no longer sprint to the end but instead shuffle in for a strong finish.

My parents now live in Kingman, Arizona. Pulling out of their driveway, the darkness filled my windshield after an early morning wake-up call. My destination was a half-marathon in nearby Laughlin, Nevada. I arrived at the starting line, just in time for the morning sunrise.

I have come full circle as a runner, watching the time churn away with the strides of my step. That circle has widened from running my teenage two-mile loop forty years ago to my latest run: six loops of the same two miles…over and over and over again…

`Laughlin, Nevada ‘loopy’ half-marathon = 13.1 miles (on repeat)`

When I moved from Omaha in early 2019, it had already been years since I ran a distance of more than five miles. With menopause came physical changes and a belief that running would soon become part of my past. Unlike previous female life changes (adolescence, pregnancy), where manuals were handed out on what to expect, I had no reference book for life after childbearing. Feeling multiple degrees of lousy, I was ready to throw in the running towel.

Not quite to the point of giving up, I ran infrequently during our year living in Boise, Idaho. Running alone at a snail’s pace while not feeling great did not motivate me to slip on my running shoes. The motivation was keeping up with my Omaha friends on runs when I was back. During 2019, I traveled to Omaha frequently.

With 2020 came a move to Durango, Colorado, along with COVID. With no more trips back to Omaha, I ran solo. But I kept running, slowly figuring out how to manage my mid-life slump while being grateful for overall good health. I did not break any course records but just kept running. With alone time came the realization that I am motivated by a supportive community. My running joy over the years has centered around the people who ran alongside me.

As the world opened back up, my priority was finding a running group in Durango. Through joining the Durango Running Club, I stumbled on a group of older ladies who called themselves The Badass Ladies Running Club. To be a part of this group, you needed to be 55 and enjoy running with other women. Just shy of 55, I got a pass to join.

Like my 1989 entry into the Omaha Running Club, I joined the group of Durango runners in 2022 as a stranger. In 1989, I found the Omaha Running Club in the Yellow Pages, leaving a message on an answering machine. By 2022, joining a running group came from a FaceBook page member request. I later knew I passed initiation when I was added to the group text.

I quickly found the Badass Ladies to be nothing short of spectacular. Like my entry into the Early Morning Milers group twenty years prior, I found these women equally eclectic and interesting as they motivated and challenged me on our runs. I had no excuse for not getting my miles in and had a push to lace up the running shoes during all weather conditions. It didn’t take long before I joined the ladies in signing up for organized races. By the end of summer 2022, I was registered for a half marathon.

Training varied with my Badass friends; we mixed it up from HIIT workouts to long runs. Group texts assessed the need for wearing shoe spikes during snow storms and whether park bathrooms were open.

With every run was a discussion on which races we are putting on our collective calendars. Since my initial half sign-up in 2022, I have completed four 13.1-mile races, plus a handful of other races of varying distances.

Our running group has matching pink Badass jerseys that stir the support of other runners on race day. As a badass, I have become stronger and faster. Forgotten are the days when I didn’t have a weekly long run on my calendar. As with other periods in my life, my menopause moaning has also become a distant memory. There is no time for that if you are a true Badass.

My recent loopy race in Laughlin was a solo run. With a half marathon on my calendar for March, I wanted a fall race to keep me motivated. Consistently putting in long winter runs is challenging. Searching for a fall half marathon to fill the void, I found one in Laughlin, Nevada. I thought I had scored with a win-win: pairing a visit with my parents with keeping my legs race-ready.

As an afterthought, it seemed odd that a race featuring a marathon and half-marathon was on a Thursday. Digging deeper, I discovered the race was run in short loops, which resulted in a low need for large numbers of volunteers or road permits. The route was an out-and-back loop, run multiple times to achieve the final mileage of 13.1 and 26.2 miles. Each leg of the loop was 2.183 miles, with the marathoners running the full loop twelve times and the half marathoners six times out and back.

A bit shocked at the thought of running for so long in circles, I still signed up.

As the only Badass training for a winter distance race, I needed something timed on the calendar to keep me motivated. Keeping the crazy race route to myself, I instead chose to run it first and share the experience later, a better strategy for not overthinking it.

I ran the twelve miles in six two-mile loops for my last training run the week before the race. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad. I enjoyed it. Knowing I had extra water, a bathroom, and my car available along the looped route gave me ease of mind. Time flew by quickly. Running and walking short loops must be a thing, as I encountered the same handful of people repeatedly.

I shared the loopy half-marathon route with my husband the night before race day. He looked at me, confused.

“You are going to run in circles for 13 miles? Wouldn’t you rather just run a bunch of miles alone?”

The truth is that a timed clock and a paid-for race keep me disciplined with a spreadsheet of completed training runs leading up to a scheduled race.

I arrived at race day, joining an energetic group of 130+ runners and walkers, learning later a 50/50 split between marathoners and half-marathoners. The race was well organized, with VERY happy race entrants. They greeted and encouraged each other and me throughout the entire race.

The selection of hydration drinks and energy food was outstanding, with the only aid station needed at the start/end turnaround. At each pass, a cup with my name was provided, with volunteers asking me what I wanted ready at my next loop. Clothing layers had a central spot for easy tossing, with plenty of people available for every need and question.

The surprise was the 20+ MPH north winds that hit us for the leg from turn around to the start. It was brutal, but I reminded myself how much I enjoyed the wind to my back. Without the loops, I would have had six miles against the wind without a break.

I discovered I was a minority, running only this one race, part of a series that hits all fifty states annually. The organizers map multiple races by region. Most runners participate in all or some of the six races that run over six states in six days. Laughlin, Nevada, was state number four for the Southwest Series (NM. AZ, UT, AZ, NV, CA). After completing all their loopy races, the goal is to become a Loony Legend. And believe me, these people are serious about this accomplishment.

I won the battle of the wind by ringing the Loony bell at the finish line. I left with a great T-shirt and an extravagant finishers medal. And although tired and windblown, I enjoyed the experience. I checked the box to stay race-ready for March while entertained by the Loony runners.

Will I now recommend this to my Badass friends? Hmmmm….probably not. We are Badass but not entirely Loony (yet).

My running circle of life will continue in March with a half-marathon in Paris, France. There will be no short loops involved. This epic race will be run with my longtime Omaha running friends, Kristi and Tam. Kristi has a big birthday to celebrate and has chosen this race as her party favor. What better way to travel abroad than to run a 13-mile race, which requires weeks of training leading up to the trip?

My forty years in running has taught me that runners come in many forms and run with varying motivation. But what is consistent is the badassery of friendship with varying shades of looney. And for that alone, I am all in.