|
Dissipation
By: Robert Maszak
As I approach the twilight of my running life, I notice that my obsessions with racing, numbers, and record keeping are gradually dissipating.
After my first race in 1977, I saved a copy of the race application, entered my finishing time on it, listed what award if any I had won,
punched holes in the application, and put it in a binder labeled "1977". Thirty years later there are now thirty two inch binders with all
my running and racing records and times from all 1,229 races which include the following obsessive streaks and personal records.
| Some streaks and numbers include: |
|---|
| 29 | consecutive years running at least 4,000 miles a year |
| 29 | consecutive years running the Park Forest Scenic Ten Mile Race |
| 29 | consecutive years running 35 or more races a year |
| 22 | straight years as Calumet Region Strider Gold Cup Race competition |
| 19 | years finishing in top five in age group in Gold Cup |
| 22 | straight years as member of Prairie State Road Runner |
| 19 | years finishing in top five age group in Will County Race Series |
| 22 | straight years as race director of one mile run on Thanksgiving in Pilcher Park |
| 105 | official 10k races in under 40 minutes |
| 105.6 | miles run in one day in a 24 hour run |
| 5504 | consecutive days (15+ years) running at least ten miles each day |
| 27 | marathons (all under 3:40) |
| 47 | track races won |
| 2 | road races won |
| 17 | ultra marathons |
| 1229 | official races |
| 828 | shirts |
| 421 | trophies won |
| 292 | medals won |
| 34 | plaques won |
| 133 | cow ribbons, mugs, glasses, bricks, and other crap won |
| 16 | turkeys won |
| Ran 10,545 of the 10,585 days that have transpired since I started running |
| 122,678 total miles run (averaging 11.63376 miles per day) |
Now that I begin my thirtieth year of running, the races and numbers seem insignificant and mere numbers,
but the daily morning runs have never lost my interest and will never dissipate.
| 
