By Edwin Yarbrough

I’ve been a consistent runner over the past 20 years. It’s done so much for me besides just logging miles. It’s brought me joy. It’s brought good health. I’ve seen a lot of places. I’ve competed and pushed my limits. I’ve built many relationships where running was the “thing” which brought us together, and then the fellowship kept us coming back. It’s allowed me to clear my head, sometimes thinking and sometimes just being. It’s kept me grounded and is often a good reset button. I won’t leave out the “runner’s high”—it’s a real thing!

With all these years of running and even some marathon training, I’ve never hit 1,000 miles in a year. So, in 2024 I made this a goal: 19.23 miles per week. How hard could it be? On December 28, 2024, I hit the 1,000-mile mark. It felt good and required the full 52 weeks of 2024. As I cooled down after the 10-mile effort, which took me over the threshold, I was proud. Of course I was proud of the fact I had run 1,000 miles, and I quickly realized there was much more to be proud of and even more so, grateful for. I had learned a lot chasing this goal. So many lessons learned that we can apply across many things we do or want to do. I knew these lessons were something worth sharing, which led me to put a pen to paper and capture my thoughts for anyone who was interested.

Below are the 10 lessons I learned running 1,000 miles in 2024 that I hope you can draw inspiration from:

1. Achieving big goals require showing up consistently.

This is the overarching mindset which must be taken when chasing a substantial goal.

2. When something really matters to you, you find a way to make it happen and get it done.

It will not happen on its own or with partial effort. Excuses and reasons why you can’t make something happen are abundant. There are stories everywhere of people doing extraordinary things with the cards stacked against them. Find a way to make it happen.

3. Consistency is key.

Yes, some runs were harder than others, and running wasn’t the hardest part of this goal. The hard part was having to stay consistent over the course of an entire year. Showing up week in and week out, especially when I didn’t feel like it. You can’t expect to “feel like it” every single day, and many times you just need to show up and do the thing. I never regretted putting in the effort on the days I didn’t feel like it.

4. When you get off course, know and believe you can always refocus, recommit and figure out how to get back on track.

I can assure you over the course of a year getting off track will happen. Life happens. The unexpected comes. Challenge lies within these moments.

5. Your “why” for anything is everything. If you don’t know your “why,” spend time figuring it out.

I knew my “why” and stayed true to it. I had two major ones.

My “why”: I wanted to honor my Dad and his 13-year fight with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). On April 28, 2024, this turned into remembrance. I watched him fight hard for these 13 years… all the way until the end. If he could fight the PD fight, I could certainly do this metaphorical “hard” thing. Many of my runs were solo and in these runs, I spent time thinking of Dad and reflecting on his life and my relationship with him. This time was a gift. When it felt hard, a big climb or it was a day I just needed motivation to lace my shoes up, I thought, “This is nothing compared to what he went through.” It was a way to honor his battle with PD and push me. By the way, he always loved to push me!

My second “why” was how this goal provided me the opportunity to practice consistency. The ability to turn on consistent efforts and understand how big of an impact they have is something I want more of in other areas of my life. My fitness and wellness are foundational to me, and while I’m consistent with exercise and other wellness practices, I wanted a very specific goal that would push me and require a dialed-in consistency if I was going to achieve it. My hope is this 1,000-mile goal can be used as a springboard for many other goals I want to achieve, especially ones where the pieces or tasks aren’t the hard things, but the consistency of doing and acting on these pieces is an absolute requirement to the achievement.

6. Share your goals.

Friends, family, colleagues and even people you don’t know well will take a genuine interest in goals they know you are chasing. I found the encouragement these people provided turned into motivation. I was amazed at the interest my 12- and 14-year-old kids took in my progress. They were my two biggest cheerleaders! Also, you never know who you will inspire—I can promise you will inspire someone.

7. You must track and measure your progress.

I would not have hit the goal without doing this. I always knew where I stood from a progress perspective, which allowed me to plan accordingly. When this kind of consistent effort is required over a long period of time, proper planning is a must.

8. The consequential benefits from a long consistent effort are an incredible silver lining of the entire effort.

Specific to this goal, a few examples for me are: My fitness level is high. I spent a lot of time outdoors in a variety of beautiful places logging miles. I strengthened and built relationships, listened to hours of podcasts, books and music, enjoyed quiet reflective moments and managed stress in a healthy manner.

9. Implement structure and disciplined planning to get to the finish line.

This goal, and the 52-week journey to tackle it, helped keep things interesting with structure and planning. There’s something about pursuing a goal, especially when you have strong “whys.”

10. We can do hard things.

Finally, upon achieving this goal, I was reminded of how we are capable of achieving so much more than what we believe we can. Some of the hard things aren’t as hard as our mind tells us they are. Some things will be harder. Either way, we’re still capable of doing more than we believe.

I hope you enjoy and some of these speak to you a bit, and perhaps you even feel a touch of inspiration. Onward!