Running is simultaneously a simple and complicated activity. The action of running is one of the most natural movements for a creature with legs. However, a person’s relationship with running can be quite complicated. If running is a hobby or part of a daily routine, the complications tend to get amplified. At least that is my experience.

I’ve held a run streak for a little over two years now, and have been running recreationally for several years. It’s safe to say running has become a daily routine for me; even when I’m not running, I often find my mind drifts towards thoughts related to running.

running, running, running…

Goal-setting has always played a role in my relationship with running. My running habit truly began when I decided I wanted to run my first marathon back in 2020, the early days of the COVID pandemic. At the time, my motivation was to improve my own physical health. My lifestyle at the time was rather sedentary, and I could see my health trending in a somewhat negative direction. So, I thought training for and running a marathon would be an effective way to improve my physical lifestyle. That proved to be correct. I ran that marathon, and have been running regularly ever since. This has helped me maintain a healthy physical lifestyle, although there are other things I can improve, such as my diet.

In the years since that marathon, my running has largely been goal-oriented. I had goals of running longer and longer races – 50ks, 50 miles, 100 miles, 200 miles… all of which I have accomplished. But there will always be more goals, like run those distances faster or do another race course. These are all great goals, and I feel a sense of accomplishment if they are achieved, but, recently, I have had to navigate an uncomfortable scenario of not having a goal on the calendar. Running everyday without a goal can be a bit of challenge.

Earlier this year, I had the goal of running 200 or more miles at a 48 hour fixed time race in July. I wrote about my training for that in several blogs. The race did not go as planned and I had to pull out early, not even 24 hours in. It was a disappointment to say the least; I talked through the race on a podcast episode:

Ep. 5: My 2026 Merrill’s Mile 48hr Race: A Struggle to Find Meaning in Disappointment

That race was the only goal I had planned for 2026. It has proven difficult to train adequately with a new baby in the family, so the plan was to pull back and relax on running in the second half of the year after the race. However, that was dependent on accomplishing my goal… I don’t feel as “relaxed” having not achieved the one running goal I had for the year. I often find myself looking back on the race wondering if there was something I could have done differently and feeling a need to prove to myself that I can still accomplish big goals.

It is also hard to maintain my base weekly mileage (which is about 50 miles per week for me) without having a goal in the future. In fact, I have not been running my base weekly mileage, usually making excuses, like I don’t have time for it or I’m still recovering. In reality, the motivation just isn’t there.

As I reflected on this, I had a realization that I didn’t like this struggle. I want to be able to run 50 miles a week simply for the sake of running, regardless of whether or not I have a race scheduled.

I decided my next goal would be to be okay with not having a goal.

Honestly, that thought did not last very long.

One larger goal I’ve had since the beginning of 2026 was to run 2,500 miles throughout the entire year. That averages out to about 48 miles per week. The first half of the year was front-loaded quite heavily as I was training for the 48 hour race. At this point, in September, I’m a little over 2,000 miles total for the year. So about 500 miles left to get done in 3 1/2 months. I’ll have to average about 33-35 miles per week to reach the 2,500 miles. That seems doable. So that’s an ongoing goal I can focus on.

However, that type of yearly goal kind of sits in the background. I am also relatively confident I can hit that goal without too much of a struggle. The “struggle” is a key part of the goal cycle for me. I feel much more sensational and emotional attachment to goals that I’m not sure I can actually achieve. The goal of 2,500 miles in the year is not easy for me, but, I was relatively confident I could achieve it when I set the goal. It was more of just a baseline I wanted to make sure I hit during the year. Next year I might bump of the yearly goal mileage to a slightly higher level, just to make sure I’m making progress in running.

The past couple weeks, I often had the thought while running, “I need something to train for” – a new goal. Because my family life is a bit intense at the moment with a 8 month old son, I don’t have the time to travel for a race. Nor do I really want to travel for a race at this point.

One thought that came to mind is to go for a sub-3 hour marathon. With all the flat-ish road running I’ve been doing this year, a marathon might make sense. But really I’m a bit tired of the flat running. The few times I’ve gotten back on trails the past couple weeks reminded me that the uphilll/downhill and varying terrain is what inspires me most and keeps me motivated to put on my running shoes.

Then I started thinking about another DIY challenge. Something outside of the traditional race environment. For the past two years I have done something like this around November/December. In 2024, I did what I called the “Ellwood 100.” It was a 10k loop around the picturesque Ellwood open space, right next to my apartment. I ran laps until I reached 100 miles. That was also my first time running 100 miles.

That event was also the topic of my first extended write-up on my own running. It was blog #1: A Long Day of Running

I’m thinking I might do another version of the Ellwood 100 this year, 2026, and hopefully run faster than 2024 (23 1/2 hours). I’m still thinking about this idea; but it is a strong contender.

Another idea that came to mind, that doesn’t involve traveling to a race and then running for 24+ hours, was to try to improve my one-mile time. Specifically, trying to run a sub-5 minute mile by then end of 2026. Over the past three weeks I’ve been doing a one-mile time trial once per week. The first week I ran a 5:42 and my recent time was 5:36. I’m realizing that the sub-5 might be a bit more challenging than I thought, which is good. But I may need more time to get there, maybe sometime next year.

While the “goal of no goals” idea quickly turned into coming up with more goals, I think it’s still valuable as an approach to my own running. Running for the sake and joy of running could help keep me motivated in the future to put my running shoes on and get out the door, whether trotting to down the roads around my house or rock hopping on a trail down the side of a mountain.

Recent Music Selections:

I’ve been listening to a lot of music this summer. The following are some of the highlights from the past couple months.

Goose 7/4/2026 Saratoga Springs, NY. Thanks to taper: JT/NY. Goose has been on a good tour this summer, playing some new live additions of the songs off their new album.

Jazz Sabbath album The 1968 Tapes (mono edition). If Black Sabbath was a jazz trio.

Ween album 12 Golden Greats. Remastered version of their great album.

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 8/15/2026 Buena Vista, CO. Thanks to taper: Brian Porter. Day 2 of the Field of Vision festival. King Gizzard is on a roll with their live shows. I need to see them someday.

Billy Strings new album So Much For Goodbyes. Amazing playing. Each listen brings out more interesting parts.

Goose new album Big Modern! Very fun new songs with a very synth-heavy 80s vibe.

Hermanos Gutierrez new singles from their upcoming album Los Ojos Del Condor. Really looking forward to the full album.