(Almost) at the half-way point of the year

Interested in running together this fall?

Tomorrow afternoon, at just a hair past 4:50 p.m., the summer solstice will arrive. That’s when the sun, which has been climbing a little higher in the sky every day since December, will reach its highest point and then start going back down again, as each successive day gets just a little bit shorter.

(Even though we all remember learning this in elementary school science, this fact still blows my mind — that every one of us, right now as I write this, is sitting on top of a planet spinning at roughly 1,000 miles per hour through space, revolving around a big giant ball of gas that radiates heat and light. It never ceases to amaze me that we’re here at all, you know?)

When I look back at my own running over the past six months, and the degree to which I’ve been able to be as consistent as I’d like to be, I see… lots of room for improvement! That’s why, even though my track record has been pretty spotty recently, I’m still hopeful and optimistic.

Still, I recognize something about myself: without a goal to organize my energies around, I have a way of falling off the path, pretty quickly. So, what I’d love to do with the second half of the year is to run a half marathon again — with you! (If you’re up for it.)

I felt terrible about missing the race we’d planned back in the spring in Eugene, so I really want to make it up to you — and, this time, make sure I put together a better plan, both for my own training and for us to get together in person, like we did in Richmond last fall.

What I’m thinking is running a race together here in the Atlanta area where I live — how does that sound? Atlanta is easily accessible for really any kind of transit, there are plenty of places to stay here, and there’s lots to do if you plan to make a weekend of your stay.

Here’s what I’m looking at in terms of races:

• The Silver Comet Half Marathon, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26 — it’s run on an old railroad bed that stretches between Atlanta and the Georgia-Alabama state line.

• The AthHalf, the annual fall half marathon in nearby Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the home of the University of Georgia and an absolutely gorgeous campus and town to visit. I was actually in Athens last year on the day this race was run, and it’s really perfect.

Those are the two that sounded ideal to me, because they give us just over 18 and 19 weeks, respectively, to train — but, if you have a different race in mind that you think might work for our group, I’d of course love to hear your suggestions.

In the meantime, I also hope you’ll consider becoming a paying subscriber to The Half Marathoner if you haven’t already. You’ll get access to so much more in our archive, as well as our group on Strava where we support and cheer each other on, and more than 1,000 races I think you’ll love running, all around the world. All you need to do is click/tap this button:

Sound good? I hope so — I absolutely loved running in person with the group that made it to Virginia last November for the Richmond Half Marathon, and I’d love to expand on that here in Georgia this fall.

Also in the meantime, I’d love to do some more monthly challenges, like we did last year — up for that? Let me know!

As always, keep in touch and let me know how your running/life is going.

Your friend,

— Terrell