At a recent New Year’s Eve party, a friend asked me what some might consider a rather profound question. “Did your wife’s passing make you feel more grateful for the health and fitness you have?” he asked.

I didn’t have to think about my answer.

“No. I’ve been very grateful about that for a long time.”

As an endurance runner I ask a lot of my body, with eight marathons and 41 ultramarathons (in 20 states) under my belt to date. Running them is hard, and training for them is hard. But because I find it all fulfilling, even enjoyable, I put in the miles and lift the weights. And when called upon, my body has delivered, even deep in the pain cave at mile 77 of the Burning River 100.

I try to be actively grateful in the moment when I’m training hard or running a race. And my recent 50-miler at the Oakwood 24 was the perfect opportunity to practice that gratitude.

Because it took place entirely within a cemetery.

I was looking for a Christmastime 50-miler as a step up to the Rocky Raccoon 100 in February and the Tahoe 200 in June. The Oakwood fit the bill, and being in North Carolina, was on the way to Richmond to visit my daughter over the holidays. Perfect!

According to the RD, this was the seventh year of the race, and as far as I know, the only one of its kind outside Halloween. You run a two-mile loop in the Oakwood Historical Cemetery in Raleigh, for up to 24 hours. This year they added specific distances – half and full marathon, 50K, and 50 miles, which is what I signed up for.

I showed up ready to rock. My knee was (mostly) healed from my falls at the NYC Trail Mix, and I loaded up my Salomon backpack with Tahoe’s required gear to give it a test run. I ended up running 18 loops (36-ish miles) with it, and it stayed balanced and comfortable. Good news there. And with everything paved I used road shoes, way easier on my legs than the well-worn Hoka Speedgoats I used at NYC. (Time to retire those.)

Running’ around the Christmas tree, in a graveyard full o’ stones…

Not quite sure who the target audience is here.

The atmosphere was casual, upbeat, and fun – quite a contrast to the usual visitors, I’d think. Even more so, because the race benefits Healing Transitions, which helps people overcome addictions. I spoke with a couple of “graduates” from the program running in the event. So inspirational! I even ran a loop with the race director, who was sneaking some in here and there.

Maybe we should do this more often!

I’d been told 24 loops were needed to complete 50 miles (2.1 miles per loop). At loop 20 I realized I had a shot at a massive PR, maybe even a sub-9 hour finish! With my body feeling surprisingly well, I stepped up the pace – and my body responded. Those final laps were my fastest, and I completed the 24 loops in 8:53. Did it!

Except for one ‘lil problem. Apparently the timing company believed 25 loops were needed, so they put me down as a DNF! It took a while to sort out, but I finally got the news that I’d been recognized as a finisher. They extrapolated my time out to 9:15, but it’s still a PR. I’ll take it!

So I ended 2024 by “bookending” PRs – a 50K in January, the 50-miler in December. A high point in a rollercoaster year. Am I grateful? You bet, but not just because of that. As I reminded myself running past all those gravestones, I’m still in the game. Every day of that is a gift worth being grateful for, all by itself.

Not needed just yet! Thankfully I didn’t have to run by this one 24 times.