As I look back at this past year, there were many vivid memories that stand out, so here were some of my favorites:

January - A goal that I had set for myself three years ago came to fruition. It was winning a marathon, and it happened here in DC at the Last Plain to Boston Marathon at Hains Point. When I ran my first marathon (Grandma's - Duluth, MN) 14 years ago, all I wanted to do was to finish the darn thing. Then, once I finally figured out how to train for one properly (that took about 8 tries, mainly at Marine Corps and Pittsburgh), I wanted to run one fast. That happened at Boston's 100th, and it was a thrill to have set my PR in that special race. Then traveling to one that had some personal significance (Athens - the historical beginning of the marathon, and I had many relatives there; then Twin Cities, Charlotte, and Mt. Rushmore - since my three sisters lived in those cities) was my goal. So one last hurdle was on my mind, and with a win at Last Plain to Boston this year, I have officially hung up my marathon shoes. After running 22 of those monsters, I could not be happier with finishing on that high note.

April - Training had been going well all spring, with a 12K PR in March, and some of my best workouts ever had me hopeful for some strong races in the prime running season. But two days before my first 10K PR attempt, on my second to last 400m repeat of my track workout, some high school kids were goofing around, and when one was pushed into my lane at the last minute, I put on the brakes and ended up pulling my right quad. It only took me out for about 3 days, but my confidence was shot, and I began running extremely tentative, to not do further damage. The bright spot was two weeks later at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, when I finally was going to give my leg a real go at it, and I found myself running with Bill Rodgers from mile 1 to about mile 9. The beauty of this was, that even though we did not say a word to each other the whole way, we each ran stride for stride for 8 miles, in some of the smoothest rhythm and relaxation that I had ever experienced in a race. It was as if I had been running with an old friend. My confidence shot up tremendously after that race, and I have Bill to thank for getting me out of the doldrums.

May - A little neighborhood race, the McLean 8K, was the site of my 2000th career race, a nice milestone for me. And once I was in the eat of the battle, I ended up fighting a tough competitor to win, so that Made this race just a little more sweeter in my memory.

September - After probably running more 5K races that at any other distance, I set a huge PR at Wednesday's Child 5K at West Potomac Park in DC. It was a race that had come together for me in every aspect; physically, mentally, competitively, perfect weather conditions, and a flat course. I had visualized this race in my mind at least 20 times, and when the day came, I was able to run with no fear of failure. I cannot begin to describe the excitement and wonderful feelings I had after that race!

October - This was a race I did not compete in, but one that was important to me because of the help I was able to provide. At the Marine Corps Marathon, I had helped my friend Susan by putting together a training schedule, motivation, and advice on this race. A veteran of many marathons, she exceeded both our expectations, and ran a 3:07:30, a PR by over 9 minutes, finishing 13th woman overall! What a thrill it was for me to be able to cheer her at certain points, but more importantly, she ran an extremely smart race, just as we had talked about, and it was a great triumph for her. Several months before, my sister Diana asked me to put together a schedule for a "friend" who was going to run her first marathon at MCM. Little did I realize that she would take that schedule and begin training for herself! Well, she ran like a champion as well that day. I ran with her the last three miles, and when I left her at the 26 mile mark, I said, "Enjoy the last 2 tenths of a mile, because you just finished a marathon!” Afterwards, she said that without me by her side those last three miles, she would have surely walked the rest of the way. Her chip time was 4:57; so just being there helped her get under 5 hours (and it was in her words, "My first and last marathon!"). That capped a great memory for me, because I was there to help and support two very special people exceed their goals in one of running's most demanding events.

December - Finally, a long year ends, and although I never thought this would be possible, I won my 500th career race at the Bread Run 10K in Glen Echo MD. My first victory, 15 years ago, was at a Deci-Marathon (yes, 2.6 miles!). The main event was a half marathon that day (so the real runners in my mind at the time were running that race), and I remember another newcomer to the sport and I running together in the lead the whole way. As we approached the finish line, I asked him if he wanted to finish this in a tie, and he agreed (being the first time I was in a position to win, I thought that was the right thing to do). As they handed out the awards afterwards, they only had one trophy to give out, so they flipped a coin, and gave the trophy to him! At the time, I was a little disappointed (I couldn't help thinking my first win was not supposed to end like this), but I quickly got over it, and over time, winning never became a material thing with me. It was about doing my best and being satisfied with running a good race. So to reach this milestone of 500 wins after 16 years of running was just something I really count on as my blessings. It just showed that on any given day, if I stayed healthy enough and were consistent with my training, good things were going to happen.

So to close, here are some additional top races for me on the year, and with that, I look forward to a fun-filled, exciting, and healthy 2001, with hopefully as many good memories as I had in 2000!

3000M - my 2nd lifetime best (Go for Glory)
5K - PR and 4th best (Wednesday's Child and CDF)
4M - 2nd and 4th best (Bastille, missed PR by one second; Race to Deliver in Central Park)
8K - 10th best (Fair Lakes)
10K - 4th and 10th best (Sallie Mae, GW Birthday)
15K - 3rd, 4th, and 9th best (Boilermaker in Utica NY, GW Parkway, and Greenbelt)
10 mi - 4th, 7th, and 8th best (Cherry Blossom, Howard County, Army)
12K - PR (Burke Lake)
Half-Marathon - 6th best (River Rumble)
95 wins, 29 2nd places, and 21 3rd places in 204 races in 2000.