Fifty miles for fifty years

How it went

I turned fifty on September 3rd. Two days later I set off from my own driveway at 2:34 in the morning to run fifty miles — one for every year. The first twenty-two were an out-and-back down the Los Gatos Creek Trail; after that I came home and ran loops of the neighborhood. I started out doing a few big ones, then realized lots of little loops were far nicer — kids could join without committing to much, and I came past the house often enough to see everybody. People walked, ran, biked and scooted alongside me from the small hours right through to the afternoon. I finished at 5:11 in the afternoon and the Oktoberfest started more or less the moment I stopped. Doing it as laps from home instead of heading off somewhere was the entire point, and it worked better than I'd hoped.

Three things I'll remember

Ask me about any of them and I'll happily go on too long.

1. 1
   Leo, who is seventeen, rode the first twenty-two miles with me

   Down the Los Gatos Creek Trail and back, from half past two in the morning. The trail would have been sketchy on my own at 3 AM, and Leo was willing to come along on his bike and keep me company through it. So gracious of him. It turned into a father-and-son camping trip and an all-nighter rolled into one, and we talked the whole way out and the whole way back. That's the part of the day I'll keep.

2. 2
   I never ran a single lap on my own

   Not one. Somebody was next to me for every single loop — old friends, new friends, people I'd only just met. The conversations were the whole thing. Around a hundred and twenty-five people came out over the course of the day. And the last lap was enormous — something like thirty of us running it together, with more waiting at the finish line to cheer. Amazing, all of it.

3. 3
   Then the Oktoberfest, which was epic

   I stopped running at eleven minutes past five and the party started right then. I showered, got into my lederhosen, and spent the rest of the evening just loving seeing everybody. Great food, even better friends, and conversation that went on and on.

The route

Every loop, traced from the GPS track.

The day, in pictures

Softened on purpose — nobody signed up to be sharp on the internet.

Birthday wishes

Shown as initials only, and only with permission.