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|  My Successful Attempt at Running a Race in All 23 Maryland Counties in 2007 By Noah Wood March/April 2008 For the Washington Running Report
I have been running for a more than ten years now, starting out
as a sprinter for the Howard County Junior Striders and then
getting into longer distances when I ran cross-country and
track and field for Hammond High School in Columbia, (class
of '02), and at Salisbury University (class of '06) where I
typically ran the 8-kilometer/5-mile distances in cross-
country. For track, I usually ran the 1500 meter race as well
as the 800 meter race. In addition, I would be on the 4 x 400
meter relay team and it was there that I broke one minute in
the 400 meter distance for the first time at Christopher
Newport University in Newport News, VA in the spring of 2004.
My PR in the 400 meter distance is about 59.1 seconds, which is
pretty good considering I ordinarily run longer distances. In addition to running competitively in college, I participated
in a lot of the recreational races that occurred on campus as
well as races every now and then on the Eastern Shore.
After graduation I continued to run and moved back with my
family in Howard County. Since then, I have been a part of the
Howard County Striders and the Eldersburg Rogue Runners
(Carroll County based), and have been frequenting many races,
usually between Carroll County and the Eastern Shore. On
Saturday, March 24, 2007 I ran the Race to Impact 10K around
the Kent Island area on the wonderfully shaded and fairly flat
Cross Island Trail, and after running that I realized, "Wow, I
just ran a race in Queen Anne's County, a county that hardly
has any year-round races." If someone were to try and do one in
every county of Maryland before this year was out, I had just
gotten in a really difficult county, and I was soon inspired to
run with that idea!
At first overwhelmed but personally challenged by the idea
(some of those counties on the Maryland Eastern Shore only have
maybe three to four races all year), I started digging. Using
such databases as the Washington Running Report, Racepacket, and MarylandRunning. I was able to find a lot of races
and running events throughout the state. I started a blog and
journals on my experiences in case someone else wants to follow
in my footsteps.
It took some research, prioritizing, planning, organizing, and
some prayer to make sure it all worked out. My approach became
rather aggressive throughout the first month because I realized
it would be smart to focus on the Eastern Shore counties first
since many of them would be difficult to find races in.
Whenever a running event would come up in a Maryland county I
had not run in yet, I would make it a priority to get that in
first, even if I had to choose it over another race I intended
to do. I did not want to leave too much to chance, as I was
working as a substitute teacher and as a service clerk at
Safeway (which required me to work evenings and weekends, when
a lot of the races took place), so I knew it would be best to
get in what I could when I could.
Looking back, there were some really great experiences. I broke
38 minutes for the first time in a 10K at the Adkins Arboretum
Arbor Day 10K Fun Run around the Ridgely (Caroline County)
area. Some of my other favorite races were the Dog Days XC 8K
in Anne Arundel County, the Inaugural Grantsville Days 5K in
Garrett County, the Eden Mill Five-Miler (it was a little
shorter I think, perhaps 4.8 miles) in Harford County, the
Centennial One-Mile Fun Runs and the PRE-Season XC 5K Race at
Oakland Mills High School in Howard County, the National Trails
Day Run in St. Mary's County, the McCready Health Services
Foundation Founder's Day 8K Run in Somerset County, and the Tim
Kennard Five-Mile River Run in Wicomico County.
During this time I was inspired to not only travel around
Maryland to do races, but outside the state as well. I ran
races in all three counties of Delaware, a 10K on the Fourth of
July in San Diego while on vacation, and the Hugh Jascourt
Memorial Four Miler in Washington, DC. Those were definitely
some fun times. I also joined the "Fifty-Plus" Club for people
who aspire to run at least 50 races per year and, by their
standards, have run 59 races for 2007 at the time this is
written.
I have enjoyed the support and encouragement of the the Howard
County Striders, the "Fifty-Plus" Club, as well as other
running clubs and newspapers. Of course, my friends and family
have been pretty supportive too and some of them even made it
to the North Beach 5K to see me complete this Maryland-wide
running feat.
Some of the Races Noah Wood Ran in 2007
Allegany County
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