My Top 10 Running Moments of 2012

Everyone keeps reminding me about what a fantastic year I've had. And I have. 2012 was amazing and took me on some incredible adventures and to some very cool places. I had no idea when I started my Year of Animal Racing for 2012 that I would be racing that much or that far or meeting so many great runners. My only goals for 2012 were these:

• Have fun!!! 
• Run on dirt more. 
• Run races with the names of animals in them. 

Woo! Mission accomplished! I love that I accomplished all my goals for 2012. Even though it doesn't feel like I'm having that much fun this month, I have had fun this year. I've also done a ton of trail races. And I ran all kinds of animal races.

Success!

Since it's the end of the year and it's fun to look back, I thought I would share my Top 10 Running moments of 2012:

10. ET Full Moon Midnight 51K - This was my 3rd 50K but also my first night race. This was one crazy run but a lot of fun since it was outside Area 51 and really made my inner geek happy. :) I may or may not have seen any UFOs or aliens but I did get to meet an RIFer there and got to run a lot of miles with Cliff and made a great friend. :)

9. Big Sur Trail Marathon - This was one of my slowest marathons so I'm kind of surprised I included it in this list. But it was hard and challenging and a beautiful run and it was the comeback race I needed after not getting my 50 miles in 2 weeks before it. And it was a fun and cool road trip that I could enjoy because I wasn't driving for once!

8. Leading Ladies Marathon - This was my first trip to South Dakota and I got to see Mt. Rushmore! Something I'd never thought I'd do. I did this only 2 weeks after the ET Full Moon Midnight 51K and didn't train for marathon speed and didn't taper but managed to pull out a 4:25 there so I was very happy with that. Not to mention the course was GORGEOUS and I got to meet 2 fellow RIFers (Run It Fast - The Club members) there. The Leading Ladies is my favorite marathon so far.

7. Crewing Josh at YT100 - I'm including this in MY running moments because although I didn't run, it was a great weekend of running and being inspired. Plus, I'd never been to Idaho or Wyoming before and I got to see plenty of both states while crewing for Josh (@bayou).

6. Flying Monkey Marathon - This was my 2nd race in Tennessee race and it was a ton of fun because I met so many RIFers there and got to catch up with some RIFers that I hadn't seen since February. Basically, it was like a big running party. And the bling was awesome!

5. My Birthday Run - Not a race but a run I did on my own on my birthday. I ran up Lower Monroe Truck Trail to watch the Tour of California. It's not often I get to combine 2 of my favorite things in one swoop. Not only did I get some great trail running and climbing in but I got to see boys on bikes (especially Jens Voigt)!

4. Disneyland Half Marathon - This was my first Disney race and it was a total kick. It made me feel like a kid and I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. I also got to meet Teal & Beth (@LifeIsARun) there! Another total blast! The Disneyland Half is my favorite half marathon so far.

3. Joining Run It Fast - The Club - Not one running moment exactly. More like lots of them! Wearing the RIF shirt has been a ton of fun at the races...lots of cheers. It's also allowed me to make some great friends and get to know some very inspiring runners. I'm also getting to do a lot of fun stuff for the club like interviews and newsletters, etc. Some seriously major fun the whole year!

2. Endure the Bear 15K - This was my first race at altitude and it was hard, but beautiful! I went into it intending to run it hard and I did AND got 2nd in my age group! Woo! Loved, loved, loved getting on the podium. :) This one is definitely a fun memory. The day was made even better because Josh (@bayou) was there running the 50K and I got to meet and hang out with his family while we waited for him to finish the 50K. His kids are SO cute!

1. Jackson Jackass 50K - This was my first 50K and my first trip to Tennessee thanks to an invite from Josh (@bayou). It had poured the night before the 50K so the trail was a muddy mess  and it was HARD and I was nervous as hell but I finished it! And I got to hang out with some very cool, fun runners. Total blast!

So that's my top 10. Pretty cool list, huh? Kind of funny that I have 3 marathons on the list when I wasn't planning to run any this year. It was actually kind of hard to narrow it down to 10 because I left off some really cool runs like the Safari Park Half and Stonewall Peak Half. And I didn't even have room for my 1st 100K or all the other tweet-ups I had. Sheesh.

What a year! :) I was pretty lucky, eh?