As we enter the waning days of 2012, here’s a quick look in the rear view mirror at our 2012 Half Marathon Race Calendar…
 
By the Numbers
 
85 race results reported by HMT racers
10 PRs were reported
 6 Race placement awards
 6 Age group placement awards

If you earned one or more of these, congratulations! 
 
Half Marathon was Primary Race Distance (duh)

Half marathon was the primary race distance with 52% of the race results (thank goodness, given the purpose of the group). The 10K used to be a (the?) most common race distance 15-20 years ago, it’s not all that common these days, having been replaced with the 5K in our attention deficit times -- and the 5K was 21% of our races, but at 14% the 10K wasn't that far behind, a reflection of the 10K’s role in half marathon tempo training.

Time of Year
 
Surprisingly to me, June and August were slower months on the calendar. The year finished strong with the fall race season from September onward. December had a uptick as new group members entered races on the calendar.

Notable notes / events / races & Awards

-> happybarb suffered the only race cancellation while the race was being run as the Green Bay Half was shut down due to hot weather. Ouch.
-> cameraready probably wished the Indy Mini Marathon was called for heat as he gutted out what may have been equally tough weather conditions.
-> vegefrog's 5K time progressed from 24:40 to 21:37 in one year! And, her half marathon time progressed from 2:02 to 1:51:41 in 3 races. Thanks for showing us what focused training can do!
-> Gville Kevin showed amazing speed at every distance has he laid down a 4:53 mile, a 1:24:52 Half Marathon, and a 3:06:45 marathon. Wow!
-> redrunner (a guy) entered the "Women Running Wild 5K", but never reported a result. Hmmm....
-> Best Race Name award ends in a tie between "Run with Dolphins 5K", and "Swamp Stomp Half"
-> Best Race Photo goes to HappyFeat for posting a race report which described wobbly legs and near-death finish sprint, with the photo looking like a composed Runners World print, fresh as could be.

In closing, a thought or two. In the US about 5-7% of the adult population report that they regularly run as an activity. If you are regular runner you may not realize that you are wealthy. In these times of global economic uncertainty many are quick to think of 'wealth' as meaning money and possessions, but another differentiator between poverty and wealth is time. We here are among those fortunate to be wealthy with time to spare for recreational running rather than having all hours used struggling to find food, water or safety.

I wish for all a prosperous 2013 in that you have time, health and amibition to run as you want and reach those goals that bring you personal satisfaction and inner peace.

I know I am late to the part on this one but Great work on this MT - nice breakdown!

It'll be interesting to compare this to 2013 and see how much we can improve as a group!