Runnig Log 2026

Seven months ago, I mentioned that I always start a new “Running Log” in early June. Well, I’m mixing it up. From now on, the running logs will be starting on January 1.

This past Sunday (December 28th, 2025) was Neon Park’s birthday. To celebrate, I made a Running Log cover illustration based on the artwork from Little Feat’s “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” album. Neon Park is probably most well known for doing the cover artwork for every Little Feat album, with the exception of their debut. Many of his designs drip with a wonderfully surrealistic absurdism that only Neon could imagine.

The artwork for Feat’s Don't Fail Me Now portrays George Washington sitting next to Marilyn Monroe (?!), driving along a steep purple mountain range in a personified car that is looking worriedly up at a threatening bolt of lightning. A strikingly beautiful piece.

The only difference I made to my illustration is substituting George and Marilyn for a runner, since it is a “running log”. 

After designing eleven running logs, you’d hope that I should know how to spell the word “running”. Apparently not. I think my subconscious brain realized it wouldn’t have enough room to squeeze in that third “N” at the top of the notebook, so it just decided to omit it all together. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m unconditioned to doing this at the end of December as opposed to late May/early June like I’ve always done before.

It wasn’t until I’d already drawn the whole title in bubble letters with a permanent marker that I saw my mistake. Rather than starting over or crying, I decided to add Mr. N at the bottom of the page, hanging on to the side of the culvert for dear life. My theory is that he got struck by a bolt of lightning.

Neon Park was born on December 28, 1940. If he were alive today, he would have just turned 85. Unfortunately ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) took his life in 1993. When his doctor diagnosed him with the disease, Neon’s response was, “But doctor, I never even played baseball!”

Happy birthday Neon Park! And Happy New Year. 2026! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Exiting 2025 Smoothly. Sort of.

Once again I am being burned up with those strange, divergent emotions both applauding the new year and weeping the old year as it quietly disappears and the new one begins. 

2025, you’re thru!

You kept me sidelined and feeling blue

Get outta here, go on now, shoo!

Out with the old, in with the new

For several months I could not run

Dark clouds always seemed to block out the sun

No running, no luck, no life, no fun

You’re cold and cruel, you rotten one

You brought me pain and misery

Why, oh why did that car strike me?

Please Lord, please, fix my knee

Give me hope, set me free

Yet…

Turn

Turn!

Turn old year!!

Turn old year before you go!!

It’ll get better, it’s got to, I just know

You can’t stay locked away in that gloomy haze

Forever trapped in sad condemning yesterdays

With help from George, Louise, Bob and Brad

My knee slowly began to heal

By mid July, it wasn’t so bad

In September my confidence was real

I am exiting 2025

Feeling very much alive

Running strong, in full flight

2026 is looking bright

Arrrg. It’s no good. In fact, it stinks.

Let’s just forget I ever wrote this piece of shit poem and jam with the Kinks…

                                    Better Things

Here's hoping all the days ahead

Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you

Be an optimist instead

And somehow happiness will find you

Forget what happened yesterday

I know that better things are on the way

It's really good to see you rocking out

And having fun

Living like you've just begun

Accept your life and what it brings

I hope tomorrow you'll find better things

I know tomorrow you'll find better things

Sun, Dec 21-Sat, Dec 27

Sun Dec 21: AM. A 2 hour 20 min run on the Capital City Trail. Nice sunny morning with little wind and a temp around 10°.

Mon Dec 22: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 32°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and in the mid 30s.

Tues Dec 23: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and the Starkweather Creek Path. It was dark and 26°. PM. A 65 min run on the Capital City Trail. Did a few 5 min surges. It was dark and in the mid 30s.

Wed Dec 24: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 28°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and in the upper 30s.

Thurs Dec 25: Merry Christmas! AM. Ran to the University and did 6xBascom Hall Hills. It was dark and 32°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and 34°.

Fri Dec 26: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and the Wingra Creek Path. It was dark and foggy, temp 35°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and 37°.

Sat Dec 27: AM. In Deerfield, did 4x1600m on the DFHS track (5:41, 5:40, 5:41, 5:40). Pooped! Didn’t feel like running too fast today but I wanted to get in a track workout as long as the track is clear and the weather allows. It was cloudy and 36°. AM2 In Stevens Point, A 35 min run on the Green Circle Trail and over snowy trails in Schmeeckle. Had to go slow on account of the poor footing. It was cloudy and in the low 30s.

I’ve been pigging out on chocolate and other Christmas junk food all week. As long as I keep the mileage up there, I think I’ll be okay. At least according to Don Kardong’s little philosophy:

“If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want. Why? Because (a) you’ll burn all the calories you consume; (b) you deserve it, and (c) you’ll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway.”

More Lists

I like lists. I made a bunch of silly lists last year. Here are some more…

Bucket List

• The Full Bucket

• The Show-No Bucket

• The Whole Bucket

• The Nanbucket

• The Chum Bucket (Plankton’s Employer)

• The Oyster Bucket

• The Shrimp Bucket

• The Beer Bucket (Hank Williams’s beer bucket had a hole in it- too bad he didn’t consult with Eddie Bo. He could’ve checked it for him.)

• The Bucket ‘O Love

• The Mop Bucket

• The Rust Bucket

• The Kicked Bucket

Ahhh buck it. This list sucks.

A really good bucket is just so doggone hard to find.

Places I Want To Visit

• Neverland

• Whoville

• Narnia

• Wonderland

• The Emerald City

• The Bottle City of Kandor

• Pepperland

• Palookaville

• Margaritaville

• Daviesland (Where all the little kinklings in the magic Kinkdom wear tiny black bowlers, rugby boots, soldier suits, drink half pints of bitter, carry cricket bats and ride in little Tube trains. And all the little lady kinklings wear curlers in their hair, own fridges and washing machines, fry bacon and eggs, and take afternoon tea)

List Of Books And Stories I Read In 2025

I read a lot this year, especially during the time I was injured. Most of these are short stories.

• W.S. by L.P. Hartley

• Harry by Rosemary Timperley

• The Corner Shop by Cynthia Asquith

• In the Tube by E. F. Benson

• Christmas Meeting by Rosemary Timperley

• Elias and the Draug by Jonas Lie

• Playmates by A. M. Burrage

• Ringing the Changes by Robert Aikman

• The Telephone by Mary Treadgold

• The Ghost of a Hand by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

• The Sweeper by A. M. Burrage (Ex-Private X)

• Afterward by Edith Wharton

• On the Brighton Road by Richard Middleton

• The Upper Birth by F. Marion Crawford

• The Witches by Roald Dahl

• The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson

• Blockade Billy by Stephen King

• On Writing by Stephen King

• The Intoxicated by Shirley Jackson

• The Daemon Lover by Shirley Jackson

• Like Mother Used to Make by Shirley Jackson

• Trial By Combat by Shirley Jackson

• The Villager by Shirley Jackson

• My Life With R. H. Macy by Shirley Jackson

• The Witch by Shirley Jackson

• The Renegade by Shirley Jackson

• After You, My Dear Alphonse by Shirley Jackson

• Charles by Shirley Jackson

• Afternoon In Linen by Shirley Jackson

• Flower Garden by Shirley Jackson

• Dorothy and My Grandmother and The Sailors by Shirley Jackson

• Colloquay by Shirley Jackson

• Elizabeth by Shirley Jackson

• A Fine Old Firm by Shirley Jackson

• The Dummy by Shirley Jackson

• Seven Types of Ambiguity by Shirley Jackson

• Come Dance With Me in Ireland by Shirley Jackson

• Of Course by Shirley Jackson

• Pillar of Salt by Shirley Jackson

• Men With Their Big Shoes by Shirley Jackson

• The Tooth by Shirley Jackson

• Got a Letter from Jimmy by Shirley Jackson

• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

• Two Talented Bastids by Stephen King

• The Fifth Step by Stephen King

• Willie the Weirdo by Stephen King

• Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream by Stephen King

• Finn by Stephen King

• On Slide Inn Road by Stephen King

• Red Screen by Stephen King

• The Turbulence Expert by Stephen King

• Laurie by Stephen King

• The Dreamers by Stephen King

• The Answer Man by Stephen King

• I, Libertine by Frederick R. Ewing

• Fix My Knee by George Demirakos

• You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay

• Running is my Therapy by Scott Douglas

• The Basement Room by Graham Greene

• The End of the Party by Graham Greene

• I Spy by Graham Greene

• The Innocent by Graham Greene

• A Drive in the Country by Graham Greene

• Across the Bridge by Graham Greene 

• Jubilee by Graham Greene

• Brother by Graham Greene

• Proof Positive by Graham Greene

• A Chance for Mr. Lever by Graham Greene

• The Hint of an Explanation by Graham Greene

• The Second Death by Graham Greene

• A Day Saved by Graham Greene

• A Little Place Off the Edgware Road by Graham Greene

• The Case for Defence by Graham Greene

• When Greek Meets Greek by Graham Greene

• Men at Work by Graham Greene

• Alas, Poor Maling by Graham Greene

• The Blue Film by Graham Greene

• Special Duties by Graham Greene

• The Desctructors by Graham Greene

• Cujo by Stephen King

• Rattlesnakes by Stephen King

• Wayside School: Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar

• The Morning of the Day They Did It by E. B. White

• X-Ray by Ray Davies

• Elevation by Stephen King

• The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar

Desert Island Albums

If I was stranded on a desert island and could only bring ten albums, these are the albums I’d choose:

1. The Beatles - Help!

2. The Beach Boys - Friends

3. The Kinks - The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society

4. Stan Getz/Gerry Mulligan - Getz Meets Mulligan in Hifi

5. Michael Franks - The Art of Tea

6. Rickie Lee Jones - It’s Like This

7. Ray Barreto - Acid

8. XTC - Nonsuch

9. Tower of Power - Tower of Power

10. Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus

I have about a thousand albums in my collection so this was very difficult. Ask me tomorrow and this list will probably look completely different.

Ten Things You Should NOT Do At A Red Light

(I stole a couple of these ideas from SpongeBob)

1. Play flappy bird on your bloody phone

2. Take a nap

3. Feed your pet snail

4. Get out of the car

5. Shoot up with heroin

6. Cuss out the driver next to you

7. Karate chop the TV

8. Take your shoes off

9. Piss and shit

10. Set yourself on fire

Lakes and Rivers I’ve Kayaked

• Lake Monona

• Lake Mendota 

• Lake Waubesa 

• Lake Winnebego

• Green Lake

• Yellowstone Lake

• Lake Michigan

• Lake Gogobic

• Pike Lake (Dawson’s Cabin)

• Sandbar Lake (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)

• Long Lake (Nate’s Cabin)

• Wisconsin River

• Brule River

• Fox River

• Wolf River 

• Yahara River

• Big Eau Pleine Flowage

List of Times I’ve Gotten Stung In The Leg By A Bee While Running 

• September 2012 - (This incident occurred after a race [not during], but I’m including it anyway.) It was before I started a running log, but I think this happened in mid-September 2012, during my 8th grade cross country season. I’d just finished a 2-mile xc race at Nine Mile Forest. After crossing the line, I took a few steps forward to the man who was giving out cards telling you what place you finished. Immediately after the guy handed me my place card, I let out a high-pitched scream and threw the card right back in his face. Everybody must’ve been staring at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. A bee had stung me on the back of my knee, right where the leg bends. I remember limping around the rest of the xc meet, but I don’t think it bothered me too much the next day.

• Monday, August 24, 2020 - From the log: “AM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Newberry Trail. About 15 mins into it, a bee stung me in the hamstring- made for a nuisance the rest of the run. It was sunny and 70°.” I went for a second run later this morning and it didn’t bother me at all.

• Tuesday, September 12, 2023 - From the log: “AM. Ran on the trails in Olin Park for about 35 mins till a bee stung my left calf - ouch! Did a slow, painful shuffle home.” My calf became red and swollen after this and continued to irritate me for the next several days. I think the bee’s stinger must’ve gotten lodged pretty deep in my calf muscle.

• Sunday, September 14, 2025 - From the log: “AM. In Blanchardville, ran about 60 mins over trails in Yellowstone Lake State Park till a bee stung my right upper calf—ouch! Limped to the car, iced the leg, then kayaked in the lake for an hour and a half.” This one caused me quite a bit of pain initially and forced me to stop running, but luckily I had a cooler full of beer and ice in my car. I think icing it helped. I went for a second run in the afternoon and it wasn’t too bad.

I really hope this list never gets any longer. If you must sting me, Mr. Bee, please aim for my arms next time. I need my legs to run!

Blogs I Creep On

• Double-D Running Blog (Dave Dunham)

• My Track Record (Greg Crowther)

• Say Cheese (Lize Brittin)

• Artist of the Day

• Japan Running News

My Paint Heroes

• Henri Rousseau

• Sandro Botticelli

• Salvador Dalí

• David Hockney

• Franz Marc

• Heinz Edelmann

• Paul Cézanne

• Marc Chagall

• Joan Miró

Miró, Miró on my wall

I love you the most of all

Cool Fonts

Inspirational Quotes and Lyrics

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

“In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.

I am one with the Power that created me.

I have within me all the ingredients for success.

I now allow the success formula to flow through me and manifest in my world.

Whatever I am guided to do will be a success.

I learn from every experience.

I go from success to success and from glory to glory.

My pathway is a series of stepping stones to ever greater successes.

All is well in my world.”

~ Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

 

“My mother said to me, ‘if you become a soldier, you’ll be a general; if you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”

~ Pablo Piccaso

“Out there—There's a world outside of Yonkers

Way out there beyond this hick town, Barnaby

There's a slick town, Barnaby

Out there— Full of shine and full of sparkle

Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby

Listen, Barnaby

Put on your Sunday clothes

There's lots of world out there

Get out the brilliantine and dime cigars

We're gonna find adventure in the evening air

Girls in white, in a perfumed night

Where the lights are bright as the stars”

    ~ Put On Your Sunday Clothes from Hello, Dolly!

“So I’m down and so I’m out

But so are many others

So I feel like trying to hide

My head beneath these covers

Life is like the seasons

After winter comes the spring

So I’ll keep this smile awhile

And see what tomorrow brings”

    ~ Gayle Caldwell, Cycles

“I’ve been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet

Had my head stoved in but I’m still on my feet

And I’m still…

Willin’”

    ~ Lowell George, Willin’

“All the people around me said this is the worst weather of all time. But for me, I thought… this is the best weather ever!”

    ~ Yuki Kawauchi on the 2018 Boston Marathon

"The run fixes everything."

    ~ Vic Ketchman

“I had a dream. In fact, it was on the night I met you. In the dream, there was our world, and the world was dark because there weren’t any robins. And the robins represented love. And for the longest time, there was just this darkness. And all of a sudden, thousands of robins were set free and they flew down and brought this blinding light of love. And it seemed like that love would be the only thing that would make any difference, and it did. So, I guess it means there is trouble till the robins come.”

    ~Sandy Williams, Blue Velvet

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.”

    ~ Andy Dufrense, Hope Springs Eternal

“Get busy living or get busy dying”

    ~ Andy Dufrense, HSE

“Laying in bed tonight I was thinking

And listening to all the dogs

And the sirens

And the shots

And how a careful man tries to dodge the bullets

While a happy man takes a walk

And maybe it’s time to live”

    ~ Mark Oliver Everett, P.S. You Rock My World

Things That Go Well With Chocolate

• Peanuts

• Cashews

• Almonds

• Pecans

• Hazelnuts

• Coconuts

• Any nut, really

• Cherries

• Strawberries

• Bananas

• Cranberries

• Raspberries

• Any fruit, really

• Peanut Butter

• Caramel

• Chocolate

• Butterscotch

• Toffee

• Espresso beans

• Raisins

• Mints

• Cookies

• Chocolate

• Hot fudge

• Marshmallows

• Graham crackers

• S’mores (with extra chocolate)

• Pretzles

After thinking about it, I’ve decided that chocolate makes everything better. When in doubt, just add chocolate!