If you keep a running log, raise your hand. On January 31st, 1977 I started running. I have no idea why but that night I made a note in one of those desk calendars that I ran 2 miles on the track at Statesboro High after work. For over 27 years I have maintained a running log. In the glory days, I might compare my work-out schedule from year to year. If my 10K times improved, I checked what I did differently to get faster. Those days are long gone....but I find myself looking back over the last 27 years and just enjoying my notes. I've written down a number of my observations from my log. I wanted to jot down a couple of notes from each year, but that was impossible. My notes got a little longer than I had expected. You won't find any secret training tips here...I just hope you find a couple of laughs.

And to the people listed below...thanks for the miles, and more importantly, thanks for the smiles

I HAD THE PLEASURE OF RUNNING WITH.....

A.J., Alex, Allison, Alvin, Andi, Andy, Anthony, Ben, Benji, Bill, Bob, Bobby C., Bobby J.,Boyd, Brad A., Brad R., Brian D., Brian K., Brookes, Bruce, Bubba, Bucko, Burt, Cathy, Calvin M., Calvin S., Chad, Charley, Chip M., Craig, Chris R., Chris T., Dana, Darrell, Dave D., Dave O., David R., David Ha., David Ho., David L., David M., David Y., Danielle, Dean, Debbie, Dee Dee MG., Dee S., Dee D., Dexter, D.G., Diane, Don S., Doug, Ed, Eddie S., Eddie W., Erin, Ernest, Felix, Flint, Gary H., Gary L., George D., George F., George S., Greg A., Greg C., Hillary, Jake, James B., James S., Jamie, Jason, Jay, Jeff B., Jeff F., Jeff G., Jessica H., Jim, Jimmy H., Joe, Joey, John B., John M., Jr., John K., Jo Jo, Joseph, Joyce, J.R., Katelyn, Kelvin, Kenan, Kenny, Ken, Kenton, Kevin, Kolton L., Kolton, Krissi, Larry J., Larry L., Lee, LeeRay, Leslie, Lisa, Louanne, Lyndon, Lynn, Mac, Marco, Mark, Marlo, Michael Mc., Michael S., Michael W., Michelle, Misty, Rachael, Randy, Ray, Red, Reg, Rew, Rex, Renee, Remigio, Rick, Richard, Rob N., Rob S., Robin, Sarah B., Sarah S., Scott, Soloman, Shane, Shari, Steven, Stewart, Taylor, Terry H., Terry M., Tesa, Tim F., Tim P., Tim R., Todd, Tony, Tracey, Troy, Victor, Wallace, Wesley P., Wesley W., Will, William, Willie H., Willie S., Windal.

THE FIRST DAY

January 31st, 1977. Went to the track after work, ran two miles. Ran the straightaways, walked the curves.

BAD WEATHER DOESN'T STOP US

2-6-78: 3 miles, freezing rain, ya gotta love it!

1-3-79: 3 miles - Frozen pipes, no heat last night, had to run at night - flashlight - a little spooky in the woods.

2-18-79: 3 miles-snowed all morning, ran in field, tough

10-13-79: Cool, windy, ran easy all the way, planned on doing about 8, but felt good so I decided to do 10.

12-27-80: 4 miles, It snowed last night, temp in the 30's, road was wet, snow was still standing in the fields, good run

2-27-82: Bartram Trail 5 Mile Race, Rob S. and Rob N. went with me. Ice storm last night, trees were covered with ice, trail was frozen, then muddy. Coldest day of my life.

7-5-83: 4 miles, Tim and I were going 10, at 3 miles it starting lightning and Pat picked us up, After we got back to town we tried again, but the lightning ended our running for the day

12-25-83: 4 miles, 12 degrees at 10 a.m., flat out cold

8-20-84: Tim and I got caught in a lightning storm..Pat picked us up...we were hiding in the woods

1-27-86: 4.5 miles, snowing, no school today because of the 1/2" blizzard

1-8-88: 7 miles, Tim and I, really slow, no school because of the snow yesterday, streets are still covered...really slow

12-31-89: 7 miles, Tim and I finished out the 1980's with a nice run in a pouring rain

1-2-02: 3 miles, Rob and I at Magnolia, snow storm today, ice and snow still on trees

FAMILY TIES

9-29-79: Jaguar Jaunt 5K in Augusta, Dee Dee's first race, Michelle - 6:48, Dee Dee around 10 minutes.

1-7-82: 6 miles, Dee Dee rode her bike while I ran, nice to have some company.

7-9-83: 6 miles, Michelle was in a parade today to welcome the Great Seal of Georgia to Millen

9-3-83: 2.5 miles early, taking Dee Dee, Laura, Dana and Rob backpacking this week-end.

4-24-84: 4 miles, Dee Dee rode bike with me

10-28-84: 2.5 late, took Michelle to Waynesboro for birthday dinner

4-11-85: 5 miles, Michelle paced me on her bike

11-8-85: 4 miles, Homecoming tonight, I'm Michelle's escort...I couldn't be happier

2-20-86: 5 miles, Dee Dee's 16 birthday, it's hard to believe that it was 16 years ago just outside London, England

5-30-86: 2 miles, Michelle graduated today.

11-9-86: 5 miles, went to Dee Dee's baptism today

10-30-87: 3 miles, after Dee Dee was crowned Homecoming Queen

3-15-92: 3 miles, took Dee Dee out to eat, she had lobster, I had a hot dog

6-2-92: 6.2, Michelle rode while I ran

5-31-97: 3.1, Michelle and I did a 5K race in Augusta

4-3-00: 3 miles, Disney World with Pat, Michelle, Dee Dee and Matt, must have walked about 1,000 miles today

2-8-01: 4 miles, Michelle on her roller blades while I ran

4-3-01: 2 miles, on board Sensation in the port at Cozumel, Mexico. Pat, Michelle, Dee Dee and Matt are Cruising

GREAT RACES

3-4-78: My First Race - Savannah Marathon, 4:41:50

4-25-80: Broad Street Ramble 10K, 42:57.3, 2nd in weight group - 209 pounds

11-22-80 & 11-23-80: 2 races in 2 days, Statesboro Great American Smoke-Out on Saturday, WJBF Turkey Trot 6 Mile Race on Sunday

11-14-81: 10K PR, 41:45 - Great American Smoke-Out, Statesboro

12-6-81: MARATHON PR, 3:31:4 - Augusta Marathon

10-13-84; Stroh's Run For Liberty 5 Miles - 35:18, National Race Series; 272 of 2059 locally, 5774 of 20,744 nationally.

12-6-86: HALF MARATHON PR - USASC 1/2 Marathon, Ft. Gordon, 1:40:46

7-11-87: RACE NUMBER 99, Tim and I did our first triathlon in Rocky Point, Ala. 1/3 mile swim; 12 mile bike; 3 mile run - 1:18:11. First time I've ever beaten Tim

4-9-88: Swampland 10K, Tim and I, most confusing start I have ever seen. The starter told us to turn left, Tim and I knew to turn right, about 60 runners didn't. I can't describe the confusion, but ask Tim.

5-12-90: 5K PR, 19:02 - Soberfest 5K in Statesboro.

10-30-99: Pinch Gut Puffer, Eddie, Randy and I, Train stopped us, most runners went back for restart, Eddie and I waited, train moved so we kept going. View from the front was great. We didn't cross finish line...but we beat Randy

9-21-02 & 9-22-02: Three 5K races in 24 hours. Jim, Joyce, and Eddie at Jekyll Island, Ga.

9-6-03: RACE NUMBER 200, Tybee Island Toys For Tots 5K

JUST CALL ME COACH MILLER

11-13-82: 2.5 miles, State Cross Country Meet today, Rob Sharkey made me feel that it is all worth while

1-25-83: 4 miles, total is 8,001.7 miles, won Region Basketball Championship tonight, beat Metter 70 - 60 OT

11-2-83: 3 miles,we won the 1st Region Cross Country Championship in the school's history today.

11-10-84: 4 miles, won 2nd Region CC Championship

11-9-85: 5 miles before CC meet, won boys Region CC Championship today

11-8-86: 3 miles, JCHS won boys and girls Region CC Championship again

5-8-88: 4 miles with Flint for his punishment, he got into a little trouble last week

KEEPING UP WITH THE YOUNGSTERS

5-18-82: 6 hard miles with the neighbor kid, Tim R.

5-19-82: 3 easy, right knee hurts, too hard yesterday

5-20-82: less than 2 miles, knee still hurts

5-21-82: 4 miles, but knee is still tender

8-28-85: 5 hard with Tim at 6:15 a.m.

8-29-85: 5 miles with Tim at 6:00 a.m.

8-30-85: 4 miles, Tim overslept...I had a little easier run today

4-7-87: 5 miles, The Big 40 Today! Ran at 7:00 a.m., so far nothing has fallen off..being 40 is not so bad after all

LEGENDS FROM OUR SPORT

3-17-79: 10K in Dublin, raced against Bill Rogers; Bill ran 30:16; I ran 46:02..wait until next year

9-8-79: Whiskey Road Race, took David H. and Robbie S. (Rob Sharkey)

9-22-79: Tillie 10K, Very hilly, one very long uphill, Robbie (Rob Sharkey) was 3rd in his age group

10-20-79: Savannah Half-Marathon, warm, humid, comfortable, did not walk a step; 1:49:19, Rob Sharkey ran 1:51:21.

1-22-80: Raced Bill Rogers again, he won 28:02 my time was 47:18

10-25-80: Pembroke 5K, 21:54, race director was Jim Hite

1-17-82: 15 miles with Joyce Hodges

8-7-82: Bear Creek Streak 5K, my first race with Tim Rountree

11-14-82: Pembroke Lung Run 5K, 20:11, got trophy from Jim Hite

4-16-83: Dingus McGee's 5K, ran with Dana, stepped in a hole, Dana ran off and left me

5-7-83: GSC 10,000, 45:33, 2nd in age group, Rob ran 6:52, 6th overall, 1st in age group.

7-26-83: 5 miles, ran to the track to time Tim's mile intervals, 4 X 1 mile in 5:22, 5:27, 5:36, 5:44. (Tim...not me)

4-7-84: Joyce and I ran the Arby's 5K

8-3-84: 3 miles a University of Virginia basketball camp, had lunch with Terry Holland and Ralph Sampson

10-3-84: 3 miles at Magnolia Springs with Dave Odum (current basketball coach at University of South Carolina)

10-7-84: 3 miles at Magnolia Springs with Bobby Cremins (Ga. Tech basketball coach)

7-8-85: 5 miles with Anthony Sherrod at Ga. Tech basketball camp, found $101.00 on the streets, turned it in, but nobody claimed it so we got it back three days later

7-31-86: 5 miles, Charlottesville, VA, with Terry Holland, University of Virginia basketball coach

3-26-89: 6.5 miles, Tim and I ran out to Magnolia Springs for Easter Sunrise Service

5-20-89: 3.1 miles, Hinesville 5K with Randy B., Tim R. and Tony B.

8-26-89: Jekyll Island Triathlon with Jason J. and Wesley P.

10-20-90: GSC Lady Eagle 5K, 22:45, took it easy and ran with Jim Hite

1-13-99: 3 miles with Randy B. and Eddie S.

MILEAGE MILESTONES

3-27-77:3 miles "Bumped my mileage up to 3 miles today"

9-25-77: 4 miles "Did 4 miles today"

12-7-79: 3 miles "passed 3,000 miles today"

12-6-80: 4 miles, "total 4002.3 miles"

12-30-80: 13.5 miles, longest training run

8-2-81: 7 1/2 miles; total milage is 5,000 miles now.

1-14-82: 5 miles, passed 6,000 miles today

8-27-82: 7,003.7 miles

2-25-83: 4 miles, total is now 8,001.7 miles

10-6-83: 9,000 miles

6-7-84: 7 miles, 10,000 miles

2-5-85: 4 miles, went over 11,000 miles today

10-10-85: 6 miles, passed 12,000 miles today

5-17-86: 5 miles, passed 13,000 miles today

12-6-86: 6 miles, passed 14,000 miles today

7-6-87: 7 miles, went over 15,000 miles today

9-12-87: .6 swim/25 bike/6.2 run, Jekyll Island Triathlon - My 100th Race!!

12-17-87: 7 miles, over 16,000 miles

8-15-88: 6 miles, total miles - 17,005

5-23-89: 11 miles, went over 18,000 miles today

11-23-89: 3 miles easy, 19,000 miles today.

6-9-90: 9 miles, went over 20,000 miles today

1-13-91: 13 miles, 21.001 miles

8-27-91: 7 miles, Rob and I, 22,000 miles

3-14-92: 6 miles, passed 23,000 miles today

10-29-93: 3 miles, Rob and I, went over 24,000 miles today

12-31-01: 4 miles, 26,212 miles

12-31-02: 3 miles, 26,691.2 miles

12-31-03: 3.1 miles,27,361.9 miles

PEACHTREE...WAY BACK WHEN

7-4-78: Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, 50:02, 11,800 runners

7-4-79: Ran the Peachtree Road Race, 20,162 runners; had to go to Savannah when we got home, Mom had a heart attack today.

7-4-80: Peachtree, over 25,000 runners, took me 3:57 to reach the starting line

7-4-81: Peachtree Road Race, took 5:10 to reach starting line

7-4-87: 9.3 miles, Peachtree this morning with Anthony, 3.1 after I got home

7-4-89: Pat and I were in Atlanta for Peachtree, took almost 9 minutes to get to starting line

7-4-93: Rob and I, took 20:14 to get to starting line

7-4-94: Almost 50 minutes to reach starting line, 1:45:18

7-4-96: Todd C. and I, almost an hour to reach the starting line

REASONS NOT TO RUN

4-9-77: "Didn't run today, went to the Masters"

8-6-80: Missed today, we took the girls to Six Flags, must have walked 50 miles!

8-1-96: Went to see Dream Team Basketball game at Atlanta Olympics

5-27-00: Rob and I did the Jim Kruse 50 Mile Bike Ride this morning, 3:21.

SNACKS ON THE RUN

11-1-79: 5.1 miles, ran home from school, sluggish, stopped in a pecan orchard and ate some pecans

6-27-81: 14.5 miles, ran to Perkins and back, had a pepsi at that little store

11-1-81: 10 miles, met a farmer, he stopped and gave me a paper bag with several bell peppers...I had to "hide" them by a fence until I came back home

STREAKING

5-7-81: Didn't run today, head cold.

5-8-81: 2.5 miles, felt better, still a little weak

5-7-82: 3 miles, I made it a whole year without missing a day

5-7-83: 6.2 miles, I've run everyday for 2 years

5-7-84: 3 miles, I have not missed a day in 3 years

5-7-85: 2.5 miles, 4 years without missing a day

5-7-86: 5 miles, streak is now at 5 years

5-7-87: 7 miles, 6 years without missing a day

5-7-88: 3 miles, streak is now 7 years long

5-7-89: 3 miles, eight years today

5-7-90: 6 miles, streak is now at 9 years

5-7-91: 7 miles, streak is at 10 years

5-7-92: 6 miles, streak is now 11 years

9-2-92: 2 miles, Hurt back, couldn't get out of shower, went to the doctor, have to spend a week in bed

9-3-92: ZERO MILES...END OF STREAK...11 years, 119 days...couldn't get out of bed, doctor's orders!!!

TOOLTIME

8-26-79: 3 miles, found a 16 foot tape measure beside the road

12-31-79: 8 1/2 miles, found a good hammer on roadside

8-17-80: 4 miles, found another pair of pliers

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

4-7-79: I was 32 today and wanted to run a mile for each year...32 miles on the high school track, started at 6 p.m., finished around 12:45 a.m.

5-17-86: 2.5 miles, Tim and I ran on path at Stone Mountain, then we attempted to run up the mountain trail, No Way. We lasted 2 minutes and 16 seconds!

9-11-88: Steve Lynn Triathlon, 1.25 mile swim; 53.5 mile bike; 13.1 mile run. 7:43.52--NEVER AGAIN!!!

7-23-94: Georgia Games 5K Race Walk, got lapped before I finished one lap...dropped out

WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMS TO GO BAD

1-15-79: 3 miles "Valiant stuck in 1st gear, Monte Carlo burst a radiator hose, volkswagen still has hole in gas tank..what a hell of a day"

5-5-79: Gum Swamp Road Race, I ran with Michelle, she finished the mile in 34th place. This is the worst race I've ever been to.

1-18-92: 10 mile race, Randy and I drove to Stone Mountain, temp. in the 20's, basketball game tonight

WILDLIFE

8-25-79: 4 mile run, stopped to kill a 3 foot rattlesnake...fringe benefits of running on country roads

6-8-81: 4 miles, saw 2 snakes, one rattler, stay out of the grass when I meet a car

10-25-81: 10 miles, ran past a pasture with a bunch of goats, one came running at towards the fence...I thought he was coming after me

3-7-82: 3 miles, dog bit me on my left leg

7-1-83: 10 miles, Tim and I ran out into the country, a dog followed us back to town, luckily he went home with Tim.

7-23-89: 12 miles, Tony, Randy and I ran to Magnolia, saw a deer running along in a field just ahead of us, she must have run 1/2 mile with us

7-1-90: 12 miles, saw a doe and two fawns on dirt road, got to within about 20 feet of one of the babies

7-15-90: 13 miles, saw four dogs chasing a little deer, I threw some sticks at the dogs and chased them away

12-1-96: 2.5 miles, saw two beavers under bridge on by-pass

6-13-00: 3 miles, saw a little green snake on the trail...stopped me in my tracks

9-5-00: 3 miles, at Magnolia, saw a creature crossing the road near the lake..I told Rob, "You OTTER know what that is."

10-25-00: 3 miles, Eddie and I on trail at Magnolia, almost steped on a small rattlesnake, I jumped about 3 feet high and yelled, Eddie didn't see the snake, he just started jumping and yelling...scared the snake much worse than he scared us

4-11-01: 4 miles, at Magnolia, saw two snakes on little bridge, they didn't move, so I turned around

8-6-01: 5 miles at Magnolia, saw a couple of pigs in the brush, they scared the pee out of me, then there was a snake on the trail, I threw a stick at him...he didn't move...so I did...I turned around and went the other way.

8-1-01: 3 miles, saw a big red fox on the Old Perkins Road

10-28-01: 3 miles, at Magnolia, saw three baby raccoons climb a tree, they were about 15 feet off the trail, should have had a camera