The end of a calendar year brings the desire to look back at the running year and see what it tells us about our progress, or lack of it, as well as our memories of particular moments, some good and some bad.
Some races give us a hand with that. Race websites with candid photos and finish times from the previous years are a nice look-back.
Some races go a bit deeper. Their work isn’t done when the awards are given out, when the venue is swept clean and the timing company vehicle is rolling away. They put the time and caring into keeping multiple types of statistics on their runners.
Various races keep and publish records from current and previous race years in different formats. Most frequently, the data includes overall records and results for men and women. Those more detailed will include age group records.
The most detailed records that I am aware of were recently included in a RunningUSA newsletter. Bolder Boulder keeps records from 1979, their inaugural year, right up through this year. More detailed than age group records, they maintain records of the top 20 from each individual age.
While writing this post, I ran across another record-keeping group, the Dolphin South End Running Club, The DSE has been around since 1966 and has almost entirely complete records of more than 50 different races. Not only does the DSE keep records of all participants and the top five performers in each category. They also have records of race directors and all volunteers.
If you are ever in the Bay area, check out any of their races. Their registration fees are more than reasonable.
These thoughtful clubs and their statisticians got me thinking. What do the races and events where 1)I have participated over the years and where 2) the race organizers publish historical data tell me.
Delaware Senior Games 5K/10K
Well, back in the day when I was just a youngster in my 60’s, I established the record meet time for the 5k: F65 – 69 2014 Harris Mary PA 0:26:11.00, and the meet time for the 10K : 2014 Harris Mary Lou PA 0:55:08.00. Note these are meet records, not state records since I am not a Delaware resident.
National Senior Games
I stumbled on this information after the NSGA‘S events in Des Moines. I was looking for information for a friend and was surprised to see my name in the Top 10 runners in Age Groups from 1987, the inception of the games: F-AG 75-79. There I was ranked #7: Mary Harris PA 29:33 2022.
Capital 10-Miler & 10K – a Run for the Arts – I directed this race for six years and have run it as many years and it’s still a favorite. Over its 15-year (soon to be 16th year) history, it has recorded overall, master and age group records (soon to be updated). I’m currently holding the F-AG 75-79 record (1:37:49 -2024), but it will no doubt be stripped away by a couple of fast-footed women moving up from the 70-74 AG.
Harrisburg Marathon – The best source for statistical information and interesting background on this marathon is the Harrisburg Marathon Four Decades of Running by Hap Miller, a great resource. Written in 2019, Hap occasionally adds supplements to include 2020’s thus far.
Currently, I hold the F-AG70-79 at 4:57:50, but again a dear running friend is about to turn the calendar to age 70 and my name will disappear with the sands of time. Oh, and I do thus far have the humble achievement (according to Hap Miller) on record as the oldest woman to run the Harrisburg Marathon.
The Blues Cruise was a wonderful experience, circling the hilly terrain around Blue Marsh Lake in Eastern Pennsylvania. The race keeps records of the top 10 finishers in each ten year age group over the last 20 years. The year I ran it, I was the top finisher in the F60-69 Age Group at 7:03:11. Alas, time marches on and I am now the seventh highest finisher in that age group. My name and time may or may not hang on for another year or so, as women in this age group just keep getting faster.
So, what about you? Have you been looking at results popping up from various tracking devices, reporting on your year end best efforts, totals miles or kilometers run, total miles hiked?
Have you looked back to Your memories of a race well run, the people you met on that journey, the places you’ve been (emotionally or physically, your choice)? Maybe you placed first, first in your age group, have the longest record running streak of completing a particular race, or maybe you were the oldest – or the youngest – to finish. I’d love to hear about it.
Until I hear from readers, it’s Goodbye 2025. But let me keep the wonderful memories of the fabulous (and not so fabulous) races over the past years.
Still a Runner 