2009 has been quite a marathon year in Denmark !
We have seen a multitude of new races, small as big, and an explosive growth in the number of people running many marathons, ie. +20 a year. We are projected with as much as six runners reaching +50 races, many with +30 and even more with +20. Only one year back this would have been unheard of, in fact my own numbers with 41-31-25 the past three years all made it tied to the maximum number of completed marathons each of those years, 41 being the current year-exit record.
But not anymore ! This is the year of the ‘Grandmaster’ (Stormesterens år), Mogens Pedersen written for 66 races as we speak and a bucketful more are to come the next few weeks. Same applies to me and a number of the other dudes, ie. a hectic but hopefully also enjoyable closure of this enormous running year.
Actually, I do look forward to stepping down from the marathon ‘hunt’. My plans for 2010 include fewer marathons – but still probably like +30 – and increased, evil tongues would rightly say new, focus on speed work and efforts on shorter distances like 10 K races. But first and foremost I will dedicate more time to my career and my private family matters. But don’t get too alarmed, race reports will continue to appear every 14 days or so.