17.5 miles. Yes, you read that correctly. 17.5 miles. A great 17.5 mile run!!!
The long run was CRUSHED!
The long run was DESTROYED!
The long run was CONQUERED!
The man Is MARATHON READY! OH YEAH!
No, not me. I covered the distance, yes, but I didn’t run that far. It wasn’t me. It was Alex!
Continue reading “CRUSHING The Long Run!”
July 13, 2025
***
Well, this is a strange and unique feeling for me. The NYC marathon is 16 weeks away and today would be the start of my marathon training season.
But I’m not training for marathons any longer.
My most recent marathon last January was my last marathon.
As I completed the Dopey Challenge in Walt Disney World in January, I determined that my marathon days were over. My reasons for retiring from marathoning are legion. I’ll touch on some of them below, but I have written a lot about that on these pages before.
The following are some of my scattered thoughts as I break away from the 16-week training period for the NYC – a ritual I followed for the better part of a quarter-century:
Continue reading “16 Weeks Until The NYC Marathon, But…”
Each year, at the start of the TCS Marathon, I serve as one of the chaplains who run the Non-Denominational Christian Service for the runners in the Start Village.
The following is the sermon I delivered this year before the big race:
Marathon Sermon 2024
I am going to begin this year’s message with a passage from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 9:
“You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win!”
Continue reading “NYC Marathon Sermon 2024”
I Love running.
I run, a lot.
I have been running for decades.
I have completed 25 marathons. This fall I’ll be running the New York City Marathon (for the 11th time) and then, in January, I’ll do the Dopey Challenge at Disney World.
Tomorrow, I turn 56-years-old.
I still play baseball as a pitcher. I exercise every single day, usually twice a day. This (of course) includes a lot of running.
I run, a lot.
Continue reading “28,433 (When Is Enough… Enough?)”
Here is the Podcast link: https://ksje.podbean.com/e/write-on-four-corners-with-delsheree-gladden-interview-with-paul-semendinger-1719863217/
Click on the image below for link to purchase the book:
From the Write On Four Corners Podcast:
“Dr. Paul Semendinger returns to the show this week to discuss his newest book, “365.2: Going the Distance: A Runner’s Journey,” which details his effort to run every day for an entire year. He talks about the challenges he faced on his quest to achieve his goal and how he motivated himself to keep moving forward. “
I am a marathoner.
In less then three weeks, I’ll be running the New York City Marathon. This will be my 25th lifetime Marathon and my 10th New York.
I have always said that I will run forever.
Nothing has ever stopped me before. A torn Achilles? Nope. Stress factures? Nope. Other aches and pains and the like? Nope.
I just kept moving forward. (I did have surgery to repair the Achilles, but got right back at it afterword.)
Nothing ever stopped me… except… me.
Nothing ever stopped me, until I did. Or, better said, until I almost did.
Continue reading “Reaching, Failing, Reaching Again”
In 2022, I determined to run every single day for a calendar year. I set out on January 1 and I ran each and every day.
I set a lofty goal, and then, through perseverance, determination, tenacity, and will, I accomplished that goal.
I ran 1,700 miles last year, or an average of 4.65 miles each and every day. I am proud that I was able to do that.
I’m now writing a book of this experience which I hope will serve as motivation for other runners and goal-setters. We can all do more than we ever imagined. You just need to set a plan and get out there and do it.
We also can’t let failure get in the way of pressing forward. I had plenty of years when I thought about and/or tried to run each day and didn’t make it. I learned as I failed from each setback.
But last year, I accomplished my goal.
Then, on January 1, 2023, I went out and ran again. I only did three miles in a new running shoe I was trying out (the Saucony Tempus), but it was three miles and the running streak continued…
But then, on January 2, I made a very sound decision. I made a smart choice. Sanity prevailed.
I didn’t run.
Continue reading “A Smart Choice”
Tomorrow is the New York City Marathon.
I just completed my 16-week training period with a slow and easy 2.80 mile run. That run put me at 680 total miles for the 16 weeks. I averaged 42.5 miles a week for that entire period.
I’m in my mid-fifties, but those 680 miles were the most I ever ran in any training period. My previous high came way back in 2007 as I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon. I did 674 miles in training that year.
Continue reading “TOMORROW!!!”
October 27, 2022
***
I wanted to make sure I was correct so I counted and recounted and counted again.
Yes. Today was the day. I had it marked on my calendar so I assumed it was, I was sure it was, but I needed to check and double-check, and triple-check just to make sure.
I had to be certain about this.
300.
300 consecutive days of running!
Continue reading “300 Days”
In one week, exactly, from right now (as I write this), I’ll be on the streets of New York City running my favorite marathon, the one race that I often feel defines who I am. Somehow, a long time ago, I realized that the New York City Marathon is part of me, part of who I am at my core.
I cannot wait for next week to arrive, to be there, on the streets of New York, running, struggling, laughing, pushing, persevering, high-fiving, and probably even crying, as I push over the greatest 26.2 miles there are.
I love the noise, the crowds, the energy, the passion, the people, the police and firefighters. I love the volunteers. I love the Gatorade. The love the quiet of thousands of steps and the noise of the bands and sirens and cheers.
I love all of it.
My heart is racing just thinking of next week.
I love preaching at the religious services tent before the race, inspiring others. I love the smiles and the hugs and the “best wishes.”
I love Sinatra’s “New York, New York…”
I love it all.
***
I just finished what will be my last hard miles outside in advance of the marathon. I did four miles in 35:20. My last mile (yes, it was mostly downhill) was a blistering fast 8:06.
As I looked at these numbers I thought to so many other numbers that helped define my training and quest to get back to the streets of the greatest city in the world.
Here are some of the numbers:
662 – That’s how many days it has been since my Achilles Surgery on January 8, 2020
318.27 – The miles I have run the last 12 weeks since ramping up my training.
26.52 – My average weekly mileage the last 12 weeks.
2 – Number of 40+ mile weeks in my training
2 – Number of 20-mile runs I did this training cycle
843.57 – The number of miles I have run in 2021
30 – The amount of pounds I have lost since December 26, 2020
21 – The number of previous marathons I have run
7 – The number of NYC Marathons I have run
2002- The year I ran my first marathon (NYC in 4:20:47)
3:25:16 – My fastest marathon (Chicago, 2006)
4:47:47 – My slowest marathon (NYC 2018, Hey, I was injured…)
12 – The number of years since I last broke 4-hours in the marathon (yikes, I used to be fast)
13 – The number of years it’ll be after this year. (I’m stronger than I’ve been in more than a decade, maybe ever, but I’m not 4-hour marathon fast…yet!)
4:26:00 (approx.) – The average time I have run for my last seven marathons (dating back to 2011)
4:30:00 – The slowest I want my 2021 NYC Marathon to be
4:20:00 – The fastest I think I can be next week if everything goes right
10:18 – That’s the mile pace I’ll have to keep to reach a 4:30:00 marathon. I think I can do this.
5 – The number of boroughs in NYC. I love them all.
1,000,000 – The number of miles and marathons I plan to run before I tire of this crazy sport
1,000,000,000 – The amount of consecutive hours I’ll be smiling after I finish the race.
371 – The number of days until the 2022 NYC Marathon!!!
Thanks to my many readers and friends for all the inspiration and positivity you’ve shared with me. Your good words and optimism help me to keep moving forward. I hope I’ve inspired you back in some ways as well.
Never quit.
Never stop trying to be your best.
“It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
Absolutely!
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