My leg
marked and swollen
My steps
uncertain
Just a few days ago
ready to quit
And yet
here I am
Legs turning
fast as they can
Heart less conditioned
remembering how it once pumped
Body churning its fastest
yet getting passed
Poured it all out
all I can do
I have attempted the run the year challenge for three years in a row. And, I have fallen short each time.
In 2018 I finished with 1800 miles—a new personal best and a good start. In 2019 I again set a personal best with 1801 miles but still a couple hundred below the goal.
In 2020 I was determined to run the year and run the miles. I was sick in January, so missed a few days at the first of the year, and was behind ever since.
The virtual runs offered during coronavirus lockdowns did not help. In fact I think the uncanceled runs, provided by the same people who created run the year, served as cross purposes. While racing in a number of events sounds like a good way to catch up on miles, the resting before and after a race creates a net negative affect. In 2020 I raced in over 30 virtual races. Both wanting to push myself, and to support the running community.
I sought to run these races with some integrity. Not every race was a PR, although I did set some of those. But I did not go out and simply jog a 5K or finish a marathon as a slow jog. I put out a real effort as if I was racing. Among these 30 events I ran about a half dozen marathons and ultras.
Every week the deficit for my running balance improved more and more. Soon it was in the single digits. With a week to go, I had less than 50 miles to run. I can remember thinking on Christmas Eve morning, if I wanted to, I could run this whole thing in one day. But that is not how the day would turn out.
A mile into the run I got hit head on by a car. The driver didn’t stop. I could see the headlights coming at me but it was too late to do anything about it. I flew in the air like a cartoon character and landed on my right side. The adrenaline initially masked the pain, but I soon realized my arm and leg were like Jell-O. Another attempt at running the year was finished. Another time I have fallen short.
I am lucky to be alive. I can remember details of the accident that I wish I didn’t. I am sad to have put the ones i love through this hell again. But as the tattoo on my clavicle reminds me, i will rise above.
2020 is a year that will go down in infamy historically… but, has been a remarkable year musically.
For the last several years I have put out a list of my top albums of the year. This year, I kept a list of all the new albums I listened to. Instead of limiting to a finite number of favorite albums, I ranked them all. This worked out to 366 albums, one for each day of the year.
Here are my favorite albums that came out in 2020. The year may have sucked, but the music was fantastic. Thanks to Henry Rollins and his KCRW Radio Show, Iggy Pop’s Iggy Confidential, NPRs All Songs Considered, and all the other music sites that help to keep it fresh.
What did you listen to in 2020?
2020 Albums of the Year
Everyone
BAMBARA, Stray
The Flaming Lips, American Head
Son Lux, Tomorrows I
![Ondara - Folk n' Roll Vol. 1: Tales Of Isolation [2 LP] - Amazon.com Music](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71%2BQfY41nOL._SY355_.jpg)
Body Count, Carnivore:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-15007998-1585429996-2381.jpeg.jpg)
Undeath, Lesions of a Different Kind
Rita Indiana, Mandinga Times
Pure X, Pure X
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19974730/future.png)
2020 may have been a crap year for wellness, concerts, health care workers, racial justice, weddings, coffee shops, graduations, sporting events, travel, and just about everything else, but it was a great year for music. Perhaps difficult times bring great art.
Here are my 100 favorite running songs that came out in 2020. These aren’t necessarily my 100 favorite songs of the year, but these are the ones that kept me moving.
Check out these songs. Whether you run, or not, these songs will put some pep in your step and help break the COVID blues.
You can listen to this playlist at: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/2020-running-songs/pl.u-14Lmt8ZlaER
Top 100 Running Songs of 2020
1. Routine Pain, Spanish Love Songs
2. pink diamond, Charli XCX
3. might bang, might not, Little Simz
4. ooh la la (feat. Greg Nice & DJ Premier), Run The Jewels
5. Nonbinary, Arca
6. Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé), Megan Thee Stallion
7. Serafina, BAMBARA
8. Deal Wiv It, Mura Masa & slowthai
9. Darkseid, Grimes & 潘PAN
10. Blue World, Mac Miller
11. Yah Yah (feat. Royce da 5’9″, Black Thought, Q-Tip & Denaun), Eminem
12. State of the Union (STFU), Public Enemy
13. War, IDLES
14. Pig Feet (feat. Kamasi Washington, G Perico & Daylyt), Terrace Martin & Denzel Curry
15. Got It On Me, Pop Smoke
16. Life Is Good (feat. Drake), Future
17. Say the Name, clipping.
18. My Wanderings in the Weary Land, The Waterboys
19. Yoga, 645AR
20. Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down, Anti-Flag
21. The Clap, The Chats
22. There Is No Year, Algiers
23. A Hero’s Death, Fontaines D.C.
24. American Crisis, Bob Mould
25. Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith), Gorillaz
26. OUT FOR YOU, Le Butcherettes
27. Kawasaki Backflip, Dogleg
28. Blinding Lights, The Weeknd
29. Look Over Your Shoulder (feat. Kendrick Lamar), Busta Rhymes
30. Sweet, Porridge Radio
31. Boys on Stage, Soakie
32. I Just Want to Dance, Sault
33. Good Morning (feat. Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Killer Mike), Black Thought
34. Come & Go, Juice WRLD & Marshmello
35. Broken Boy (feat. Iggy Pop), Cage the Elephant
36. The Difference (feat. Toro y Moi), Flume
37. Alert Level (Quarantined Mix), Ministry
38. AS Tearless (feat. Lalita), Amnesia Scanner
39. Hate this Pain, Tricky
40. Light Of Love, Florence + the Machine
41. Angel on the Road, X
42. Feign, Touché Amoré
43. Go!, L.A. Machina
44. You should be sad, Halsey
45. Nice to Meet Ya, Niall Horan
46. Exhale, Jónsi
47. Xxoplex, A. G. Cook
48. Television Sets, Alien Nosejob
49. All Lies, Sarah Mary Chadwick
50. Mandinga Times (feat. Kiko El Crazy), Rita Indiana
51. Shock Collar (feat. Dave Gahan), Humanist
52. Boomer, Bartees Strange
53. Joanna, Sevdaliza
54. House Arrest, Sofi Tukker & Gorgon City
55. Hope Hell High, The Flaming Lips, Deap Lips & Deap Vally
56. Good Morning (feat. Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Killer Mike), Black Thought
57. Amen, Logic
58. Therefore I Am, Billie Eilish
59. Speed Kills, Chubby and The Gang
60. Sports!, Dream Wife
61. NO MAÑANA, Black Eyed Peas & El Alfa
62. Oh Yeah!, Green Day
63. Pakistan, Siti Muharam
64. BB (BODYBAG), slowthai
65. Never Slow, Bishop Nehru
66. I’m Not Getting Excited, The Beths
67. Armageddon’s Back in Town, Drive-By Truckers
68. Say Less, Nothing
69. Jolene, Lingua Ignota
70. Maker, Anjimile
71. Morrow, 070 Shake 
72. Iron Cut, Gaika
73. Voodoo Child, Tom Morello
74. Oh No, The Revivalists
75. Sandcastles, Cable Ties
76. Guide for the Perplexed, Thomas Feiner
77. Good to Be Alive, Brendan Benson
78. On the Floor, Perfume Genius
79. Last Sniff (feat. MF DOOM), Wilma Archer
80. I’m Not Your Dog, Baxter Dury
81. Foam, Knot
82. Wonder, Lomelda
83. Long Road Home, Oneohtrix Point Never
84. Mmm (feat. Ragz Originale & BenjiFlow), Oscar #Worldpeace
85. Legends Never Die (with Shania Twain), Orville Peck & Shania Twain
86. Slightly Sophisticated, Sneaks
87. they told us it was hard, but they were wrong., Ela Minus
88. Four Seasons Medley: Four Seasons / Dark Ocean Waltz, Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn
89. Antigravity Love, Krust
90. Blitzkrieg Bop/Backseat Freestyle/Una, Grimes
91. Satan’s Combover, Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine
92. KKK Tattoo, Regional Justice Center
93. ATM (feat. Missy Elliott), Bree Runway
94. Bad Decisions, The Strokes
95. montgomery forever, The Front Bottoms
96. Night Crawling (feat Billy Idol), Miley Cyrus
97. Sweatpants Spiderman, Open Mike Eagle
98. You Better Move, Lil Uzi Vert
99. Primed and Ready, Wire
100. Kingdom Of Ends, Róisín Murphy
When I ran my first marathon a decade ago, I rode to the start line with an elite athlete. I asked her for any advice she could offer. She said, after 20 miles, we all hurt. It doesn’t matter how accomplished or novice you are at running, everyone hurts after 20 miles. The challenge is to keep going despite the pain.
I went in to yesterday’s DrumRunMarathon knowing it would hurt long before 20 miles. For the last two months I have been limping on a strained tendon in my left foot. In the last week, I pulled my groin twice. The weather forecast was for a sunny, 90 degree day. This was not going to be an easy run. And yet I chose to run in to the pain anyway.
The DrumRunMarathon is my riding on the coattails of Greg “The Governor” Pearson who is a fitness professional and the drummer in the Church for All People’s praise band. For years, Gov has developed an annual tradition of drumming in front of the Statehouse for 24 hours, sharing a poem called “The Gift of Love” that speaks of how God first loved us, and using this as a fundraiser for the church. This year, I jumped in to his parade and ran as he drummed.
I ran in to my pain inspired by Gov who had been drumming in front of the Statehouse for eight hours before I showed up and still had 16 hours to go.
I ran in to the pain as I watched peaceful people get escorted away from “the people’s house” because of the color of their skin.
I ran in to the pain as my foot swelled. My sports medicine doc cleared me to run, and I ran a solid pace that I was really happy with for the first 18 miles. But with no thanks to Phidippides a marathon is 26.2 miles and I began to wonder if my sports medicine doc is too permission giving.
I ran in to the pain as the temperature reached 90 degrees. In the morning, there was not a cloud in the sky and by a dozen miles in I was soaked with sweat. But I did a better job of staying hydrated and taking S Caps than I had in previous races. Also, some afternoon clouds and breezes went a long way.
I ran in to the pain and finished 26.2 miles.
In the moment, pain can feel all encompassing. But two lessons of running are that it doesn’t always get worse and that pain is temporary. My 26th mile was one of the strongest and fastest miles that I ran all day. And, on this side of the finish line, we built new relationships and raised over $2,500 for the work of the United Methodist Church for All People who is seeking to building diverse relationships of mutuality with all people. You can always support this work at: https://www.4allpeople.org/give
The last few months have left us all with the question, what do you do when times are difficult?
What do you do when you can’t do the things that give you life?
What do you do when people are suffering?
Often, we can retreat and turn inward, or we can choose to walk in to the discomfort, embrace the pain, and overcome.
In a small way, that is what over 500 runners are doing this weekend around Columbus, Ohio. It is one hot weekend, but we are virtually running the Hilltop USA 5K, to benefit veteran’s organizations on the west side of Columbus. Although this race couldn’t happen in person, the support of the community was so great that it sold out and more spots were opened up.
Today I ran with Lisa Qualkenbush Dillahunt, who ran her own virtual race at the same time, leg 2 of the Columbus Running Company Grand Prix. We ran at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, one of my favorite places, but the heat and humidity were not fun. I decided to wear my race shirt for the 5K, which was a soaked cotton mess by the end. Nonetheless, the miles clicked off quickly. Despite having a gimpy foot, and it being a hot day, we ran a solid run, faster than our goals. Nothing close to a PR of any kind, but we ran in to the heat and discomfort and overcame.
More importantly, this race has already raised over $3,000 to help veterans organizations. This will assist those heroes who walked in to truly difficult situations and overcame.
Rise above!
2020 has been a crap year by many measures–just ask the 9,859,738 families of people with confirmed cases of coronavirus or the 400 year echo of black voices crying out, I can’t breathe.
But from all this pain has come great art.
In my unprofessional opinion, here are my 100 favorite albums from the first half of 2020 and my 100 favorite running songs from the first half of the year. There has been so much good music this year, I still have a couple of dozens albums I am waiting to find time to listen to. There was been more good music than what would fit on this list. I don’t pretend to be an expert in any of this, but if you are looking for something good to listen to, this a good place to start:
Listen to this playlist at: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/2020-running-songs/pl.u-14Lmt8ZlaER
Life is persistent. We live so often in fear of death. But the reality is that life is a strong force that finds a way. Our bodies do amazing work in combating viruses and bacteria and so many threats. Life is found around the world in places that we would call uninhabitable: from the bottom of the ocean to the most scorching desert. Life is a persistent force.
Today marks the end of the un-canceled racing series (although rumor has it something new may be coming). This series began with a six week series in March and a second six-weeks was added in May. During each of these rounds runners completed a 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K, half marathon, marathon, and ultra marathon.
Yesterday I completed the second round and full series of un-canceled with a marathon. I had hoped to finish the marathon in under five hours and for the first half of the run i was on track to do that.
At the halfway mark i stopped at a convenience store for a bathroom and water break. That put me a couple minutes behind pace, but i went right back to chipping away at it. However, as the miles moved in to the 20s, the temperature reached in to the 80s. A rule of thumb for running is that it feels 20 degrees hotter while running and heat has always been my nemesis.
In order to be safe, I knew I needed to make a second water stop and with the cloudless heat, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make up this time. But the goal for this was not the completion of a singular race, but the un-canceled series. I accepted that this would be how the day would end. I was able to run the next couple of miles well, but ended up run-walking miles 24 and 25, and straight out walked the last 1.2.
I did not finish the way I would’ve liked, but life persisted. I kept moving forward when it would’ve been easier to quit. Although this was one of the slowest marathon times I’ve ever run I was happy with my effort and the fact that I could finish.
Life does not give up easily. Since the start of the coronavirus I have now completed 18 virtual races. Yes, I know that is ridiculous, but it is ultimately a statement that life wins!
Perseverance is the theme for this week’s Un-Canceled run.
The theme of this blog is perseverance. I am not a fast runner, I am not a gifted athlete. I have an awkward body that often feels to me like it’s been cobbled together from spare parts. But the one thing I have is perseverance. I can keep going when it gets tough. I can keep my legs moving when I journey in to the pain cave.
Today I ran the Un-canceled2 8K run. I didn’t run at record-setting pace, but considering a week ago I ran a 50K, and that this is my 17th race since the start of the coronavirus, it was solid. I ran negative splits, with each mile faster than the one before. It was a good perseverance run.
However, when I think about perseverance, real perseverance isn’t in the runner who 
keeps going with sore legs, it is in the people around me who keep going with difficult lives.
The single mother, raising her kids, who is tired from working multiple jobs, but keeps going to support her family, is perseverance.
The person who wakes up every day with the weight of depression and keeps going is perseverance.
The protester who is tired from being on the streets for a week and a half and goes back out again, in to the heat, to build a more just society is perseverance.
Look around you. Who are the people you see that keep going when life is hard? There are a million examples of perseverance around us that can strengthen us when we feel weak.
