2025 Running Year In Review

2025 Running Year In Review

• Total Miles – 1060 miles / 88 miles per month / 20.4 miles per week
• Total Runs – 157 runs / 13 per month / 3 per week
• Total Time – 184 Hours / 15:23 per month / 3:33 per week
• LIFETIME TOTALS – 33,763 total miles run / 5807 total lifetime runs / 4783 total lifetime hours run

2025 Mileage by month

January – 38 miles	May – 111 miles	September – 130 miles
February – 50 miles	June – 87 miles	October – 91 miles
March – 88 miles	July – 64 miles	November – 96 miles
April – 95 miles	August – 153 miles	December – 57 miles

It’s December 27, 2025, and I have decided to listen to my knees for once and give them the break they deserve.  I’ll be taking the rest of the year off from running, hoping to let my sore knees recover a little before I start beating them up again in 2026.  Thanks, knees, you served me well this year.

I was hoping to improve on the 800 total miles I ran in 2024, and exceeded that goal by 260 miles, getting to 1060 total miles for the year. Passing the 1000-mile mark for the year is always the goal. Four races were placed on the calendar this year, with a return to an Ironman event and a new experience of gravel bike racing. I went back to Iowa again for one of my favorite races, and also back to the November 25K trail race to wrap up the season. Here are the summaries and links to the race reports:

2025 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Race Report – I hadn’t raced a half-iron distance triathlon since my first one at IM Muncie in 2014. When Ironman 70.3 in Rockford, IL, was announced as a brand new location for the half-iron circuit, I jumped on it as it is very close to home.  It was a hot 🥵 🔥, but I somehow survived.  After finishing, I was telling my wife I was done with this type of craziness, but I immediately signed up again the day it opened for next year.  

Little Apple Gravel Race 50K – Race Report – Other than in triathlon, I had never raced my bike in a bike race before, and when my local friend Jim suggested this local race, I decided to take the fitness I had left over from racing the 70.3 and try gravel bike racing.  I had a great time and will think about returning to this one in August.

2025 Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra Race Report – This was my fifth time at Broken Anvil BYU in Iowa, and it is always fun.  Managed 10 loops this year, matching last year’s total.  

2025 Paleozoic Trail Runs – Cambrian Fall III 25K Race Report – I had felt pretty good going into the race, but somehow hit the wall hard with plenty of race to go.  Thankfully, a gel my wife insisted I carry with me got me to the finish line in one piece.  

I was on the cusp of being in good running shape this year, but the injuries wouldn’t stay away. As I built up to the 70.3, I was hoping to go sub-6 hours overall and run a sub-2 hour half-marathon split, but the heat on race day derailed that plan. A couple of weeks later, I was running an easy five miles, and my right hamstring got painfully sore with about a mile to go. That set my running back, so I focused on riding my gravel bike and eased back into running. After the gravel race, I figured I’d better stay away from any sort of speed work as I built up mileage for the backyard ultra. I had made some early-season predictions that I hoped to go well into the night at Broken Anvil, but the lack of mileage set me back. Next year, I will try to focus on building more mileage and time on my feet. I want to take another crack at 100 miles, whether it comes at Broken Anvil or possibly a return to Tunnel Hill. I’m sure the wife will love reading that.

On to 2026 and Year 37 of running!