Bucket List

There is a great new show on MTV called the Buried Life, I know, I know, what are you doing watching MTV at 43? I have three teenage children, so yes, I do think most of what is on MTV is pure mind-numbing and painful to watch, I mean, what happened to actually showing music? But this show is actually really good! For those of you have not seen it, here is the premise of the show: four young guys in their early twenties are traveling across the good ol' USA and Canada trying to carry out their top 100 Things To Do Before They Die List. Not only that, as they try to accomplish one of their To-Do items, they help someone else in that location accomplish one of theirs as they do man on the street interviews, always asking the same question, "What do you want to do before you die?"

My favorite episodes so far include Making a Toast at a Stranger's Wedding, Help Deliver a Baby, and Breaking Into the Playboy Mansion, with the Toast being my favorite. I think I might need to add that to my list before I die. I've seen my children being born, so, nope, been there, done that, and well, lets just say, it was not my cup of tea! And since I am a happily married runner, I think I will pass on trying to sneak into Hugh's happy little romper pad. So what has all this to do with running? Well, last week I read about another 40+ runner, dealing with the effects of Father Time and had decided he is going to approach the next couple of years in a Bucket List kind of fashion. This got me to thinking, what are some of the things I want to do in my running life before I fall into the old pine box?

So here are the Top Ten Running Life Bucket List Items that I would like to do before I die:
1) Wear a USA uniform in an international track meet.
2) Run with the greatest runners in the world, the Kenyans, on a training run in Eldoret, Kenya.
3) Qualify and run the Boston Marathon.
4) Race a 5,000 or 10,000 meter race one more time at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
5) Run in the London Marathon.
6) Race in a 3,000, 5,000, or 10,000 meter in a European track meet.
7) Run to the top of One Tree Hill in Auckland, New Zealand.
8) Run everyday for an entire year.
9) Break 5 minutes for the mile for the rest of my 40's.
10) Coach at the 4 year college level.

These are my top ten Running Life Bucket List Items. Some I am in the process of scratching off, others, well, it is going to take awhile. This running life has been such an exciting and wonderful experience over the past 30 years and I cannot imagine what it would be like to not be able to wake up and be able to lace up my sweat-soaked Nikes and head out into the world to explore all the possibilities that lie ahead as I pound out the miles. The best part is, I didn't do it alone. I have so many memories that were and are being created with some of the greatest friends a runner can have. My hope and prayer is, that as I begin to cross these items off over the next several years, many of you will get to share that experience with me. It really is a blessed life to be a runner, and better yet, to be part of a community of runners.

It is time to lace up and head out the door! As always, stay healthy, keep running, and I ask, what do you want to do in your running life before you die?