Runner's Journal & Bib Board

When I get into something... I tend to go all out. Anything worth doing at all is worth doing 100%, right? Recently, I've applied this philosophy to my newest hobby of running.

I never, ever, EVER thought I'd consider myself a runner. I always hated running, and usually lived by the "If I'm running, you'd better run too because something is chasing me" rule. I remember in middle school when they made us run the mile in gym class... pretty sure I cheated and only did 3 laps instead of 4. And that's probably what saved me from the embarrassment of puking my guts out afterwards.

But I've really impressed myself lately! The other night I ran a little over 7 miles, which is my longest run to date. I'm actually training for a half marathon in September (what's WRONG with me?!?!). I don't really run fast- my PR for a 5K is 29:56, and 1:07:06 for a 10K, but I like to think that's amazing progress since I started running in April!

I keep a running journal to motivate myself and keep track of all my miles and races. I also try to get one picture of myself at each race to commemorate it and to see my progress (the differences are already drastic between my first race and my most recent), although I'm struggling to train my husband to take the darn pictures. He almost always comes with me to the races, but I guess he's not a shutterbug like I am.

Explosion of journal parts all over the dining room table.

My first 5K race page... I look awful.

My most recent race. I had to scour the local paper for an image with me in it.

Of course, it's pretty impossible to find exactly what you need in a journal when you're shopping for one. I wanted blank pages AND calendar pages in mine to record runs, miles and times, so I designed and printed some orange cardstock calendars and used a notebook punch to insert them into my journal. I had to cut out some of the teeth on each calendar to get them to go onto the spiral of my little book, but it works. I use shiny star stickers whenever I have an official race to mark them on the calendars.



When I complete a race, I stick a printout of the race logo and a little record square on the page, then fill in the rest of the page with images of myself, my watch with race time, the printout of the time sheet... anything I've got that will remind me of my progress.

My PR 5K race page; check out my 3rd place medal!

I also like to cut out inspirational quotes and words from magazines and stick them in between race pages, and I write about how I feel after runs and about my running journey in general.


To accompany my journal, I also created a bib display to hold all the bibs from my dozens of scheduled races this summer. I even have a medal on there already! I also made a board for a friend who ran her first marathon earlier this year.

My lime green, disco ball, washi tape and toner transfer bib board!

Both boards and an appearance by my favorite photo-bomber.

Hanging in my entry way to remind me of my progress (and to bring the dog along).

Apparently, I can even turn running into an excuse to be creative. :)

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