May 25

8 miles

Came in 5 min. quicker than usual!

June 1

10 miles

Let’s just pretend this day never happened…

June 8

9 miles

Evil suicide sprint things. Ran w/ Liza. Got sick.

June 15

7 miles

Skipped Saturday’s run…had to make it up Sunday.

June 22

8 miles

Stomach hurt again. Matt said eat granola instead of oatmeal.

June 29

9 miles

Matt says it’s time for new tennis shoes.

July 6

10 miles

Jere got hurt.

July 13

12 miles

Finished in 2:14! Only had to use bathroom once

July 20

13 miles

Halfway there!

July 27

15 miles

Humidity just about finished me off. Time 3:06.

August 3

14 miles

Hurt knee. Overdosed on Pepto.

August 10

11 miles

Wore new knee brace—it messes with my gait.

August 17

16 miles

Didn’t get enough sleep in dorms.

August 24

20 miles

Need lifetime supply of Pepto & ice packs. Stat!

August 31

14 miles

Ran w/ Liza & Andrew

September 7

22 miles

Holy crap! Time 4:35. I ran for 1/2 a school day!

September 14

20 miles

September 21

The Bluegrass Half Marathon

September 28

12 miles

October 5

10 miles

October 12

Country Music Marathon in Nashville

THE BLUEGRASS HALF MARATHON

Three Weeks Until the Country Music Marathon

I bounce up and down on my toes.

Liza, Andrew, and I are in the corral for people aiming to finish the Bluegrass Half Marathon in two hours and thirty minutes. Excitement ripples through the crowd and people cheer for no reason at all. The race starts in less than ten minutes and I can’t wait.

Jeremiah slips into my corral and kisses me. “Good luck, Winters. I’ll meet you at the finish line.”

“You too,” I reply, and he smiles over his shoulder at me before disappearing toward the first corral where the best runners have gathered.

Liza and Andrew start making embarrassing “wooo!” noises at me.

“I hate y’all,” I grumble, and they laugh.

“Are you guys together yet?” Liza whispers to me.

I shake my head. Jeremiah and I have been making out and sleeping over with each other for a month—never going further than second base, but I’m still not ready for a relationship with a guy who lives on the edge. The space between us makes me feel safe…and a bit antsy. It would be nice to tell him how much he means to me—that maybe there is more than one person for everybody—but I feel that would cement us together. I don’t think my heart could survive losing another person so special to me…

“You need to get on that,” Liza adds, nodding in Jere’s direction.

“You’re one to talk,” I whisper back, throwing a glance at Andrew.

I’ve been at college for a month and a half. It’s only three weeks until the Country Music Marathon, and today is the last time I’ll run a long distance before then. Matt says it’s time to taper off, so we’ll be in good shape for race day.

I totally get why people run races. After months and months of hard work, the excitement is like nothing I’ve experienced before. It’s the night before Christmas.

A gun fires. Runners cheer. The crowd edges forward, and it’s so cramped, it takes a little while before we can start jogging. But then it’s hard to keep my pace in check—so much adrenaline floods my body, I want to take off like a bottle rocket. It’s a good thing Liza and Andrew are here with me to control my pace.

When I was a kid running laps around the playground in gym class, I thought running was the most boring thing ever. But running a race is not boring. Not boring at all.

“Oh. My. God,” Liza says, pointing at five Speedo-clad guys with American flags painted on their faces.

“How is running in those comfortable?” I blurt.

“I don’t know, but it’s plenty comfortable for me to look at. Not to mention patriotic.” She laughs naughtily. I make a gagging sound. I did not need to see that.

Crazy people are wearing crazy costumes. One guy is dressed as a fairy? Another is wearing a pink gorilla suit. A group of guys in Batman masks cut holes in their shorts so their butts are hanging out. They call themselves the Bare Butt Batmans.

Liza loves them, of course.