The Twelve Days of Christmas

I’ve seen various “12 Days of Christmas” lists so I thought I would put together my own. Re-capping my year in running and coaching, I give you They Chanman’s 12 Days of Christmas:

 

12 – Twelve dogs (and two Eskimos) in a Bay to Breakers Pamapede Iditarod centipede.

11 – Eleven (and a half) miles, the least number of miles I ran every week this year.

10 – Ten (and a half) miles from Wunderlich to Huddardt and back. I finally made it all the way to both ends. This was one of many long trail runs this summer that got me into great shape.

9 – Ninth row at the finish line, our seats at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu.

8 – Eighth master runner at the Zippy 5K, a race where I achieved a major goal of mine, breaking 17 minutes for a 5K as a master.

 

Racing at the 2011 Zippy 5K

7 – Seven events at CCS Finals, in which the Irish Track & Field team had an individual qualify. We had someone place in the top five in all seven events.

6 – Six Irish athletes qualified and competed at the State Track & Field meet. First time we’ve had someone qualify since 2003.

5 – Five dollars, the new price for Thursday night track workouts. After seventeen years at the original $4 price, I raised my rates effective July 1, 2011.

4 – Fourth place overall in the Pacific Association Grand Prix (Short) Road Series in the masters division.

3 – Three cherry picker race first place overall finishes: Run For Recess 5K, July Fourth Rocket Run, Miles for Migraine 10K.

2 – Two years in a row the Irish qualified both the boys and girls teams for the State Cross Country Meet.

1 – One hundredth of a second, the amount of time by which Shannon Rowbury beat the fourth place woman in the 1500 meters at the USA Championships to qualify for the World Championships in Daegu.  

Shannon Rowbury battles Christin Wurth-Thomas at the finish of the women's 1500 meters at the 2011 USA Championships

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. And to all, Happy Running!

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