January 27, 2013 by Shane Jones

Place in my Age Group at a Race – Bucket List #12 Athletics

About two years ago, I underwent a big life experience, and in some ways it altered my perspective on life. I wouldn’t ever say it was for the best or worst, but either way, it ended up with me having a lot more time to myself, especially to think about the path my life was taking me. And I’m not one for having personal time of my own; I don’t like being alone, I like being surrounded by people at all times, and to be interacting with others daily. But unfortunately that’s not always possible, so in order to cope, I found myself putting the majority of my efforts into running. I poured my heart into it to distract myself from everything that was going on around me. But this isn’t supposed to be a blog post about all that stuff.

The point is, running has become something that’s very important to me. It’s no longer just a hobby, its part of my life, and without it, I usually feel very unfulfilled. So over the past two years, I’ve run a ton of races, starting with my first marathon, the Bob Potts Rail Trail in York, PA. And since then, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how well I’ve done in comparison to my peers. That first marathon, I placed 5th in my entire age group (0 – 25 years old)! Not the hardest age group, considering most individuals who run marathons aren’t just 22 years old. But still, runner’s are considered in their prime between 25 and 29, so I’d say thats not too bad!

Bucket List Goal Almost DONE!

Since then, I’ve seen a pretty continual run of decent results, generally leaving me in the top 20 of my age group, but I’ve never considered pace an aspect of my training (well…too much). I’ve just focused on running because it feels right, and to complete the distances I set out to complete. But I’ve always known that I’ve only ever done so well in races because I’m one of the most competitive people you’ll ever meet. It used to be that if you were to say you could juggle 20 kittens while riding a bicycle on a trampoline, I would make it my goal to juggle 22 kittens while riding a unicycle on a trampoline just to one up you. And I’m very aware that this isn’t necessarily the most endearing trait, but it’s not something I actively do, it just comes naturally. Fortunately, I’ve worked on it, and I think I can keep it under control most times, but in situations like a race, no matter what happens, I’m going to put my all into keeping up with you.

Anyways, I’m getting off track again, but basically, I thought it was about time to start taking these races more seriously. I wanted to come out on top, and I wanted to set a goal to place in a race. And just this past winter I pulled it off! On November 24, 2012 I finally placed 3rd in my age group and 5th overall!

Me before the 5k – IT WAS FREEZING

I had been running a lot of half marathons lately, so my pace for a 5k was not on par, but through a little desire, I managed to keep up with the race leaders. The run, the 4th Annual “Lifting a Legacy,” was held in honor of two of the most genuinely friendly people I’ve ever met, Jon Quigley and Emily Trump, who had passed away in a car accident about 4 years ago (?). I went to high school with both of these individuals, and grew up with Jon through boyscouts. (If you want to donate to the charities in their memory, they go to “Stop the Violence” and Pink Hands of Hope.)

Anyways, here was my time, and proof of my finish! I couldn’t have been more excited, and I think my goal is to win next years! Wish me luck! And for those of you locals, I’d love to see you out there to challenge me for the title! 😛

Thanks for reading! Oh and thanks to Joel for running with me! He killed it too! 1oth place!!!

Joel and I after the Race!

Joel Finishing his 5k

UPDATE: Progress is Everything.

So now that it’s been some time, and a New Year has rolled around, I’ve run a couple of events, and it’s felt good to get back to working on my 5k time. I just completed a Tough Mudder so a little bit of focus was getting my distances back up, but that has all helped to improve my 5k time. Great news is that just in April I managed to move on up from a 3rd Place finish, to a Second Place finish! It was for a great cause to donate to cancer after a boy, Eli suffered from a fatal battle with cancer. Thoughts go out to his family.

But on a more positive note, I’ve got second under my belt, and it feels great! Here’s the medal, first place here I come. Oh yea and great job to my longtime running soul mate, Katy Mills for also getting second place for the ladies!

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to updates

Get actionable consumer behavior advice in your inbox.

Email once a week. Unsubscribe at any time with a single click.

Bio
Latest Posts

Shane Jones

Owner at Shane Patrick Jones

Shane Jones is a Senior Social Outreach Specialist with management roots in online PR. A strong proponent for the power of personal, "humanized," digital collaboration, Shane shares his opinions and knowledge on Social Outreach and Digital Marketing. Additionally he blogs about his life's adventures, as he continues to "Empty his Bucket." He's always on the lookout for more bucket list ideas. Follow me on Twitter @ShaneJones15, Google +, and LinkedIn.