Nearing the finish line

Carving out more time with these guys means stepping away from the screen.

I’ve alluded to the fact that I’ve been wrestling with whether or not to keep going with this blog. I think you can tell by the frequency–or rather infrequency–of my posts of late that not is kind of winning. I’m a never say never kind of gal, but it feels right at the moment to shut things down here. Or at least put them on hiatus. So that’s where I’m headed.

When I started this blog five years back, my kids were much younger and it probably felt like I had infinity left with them at home. Today my son is starting high school. High school! The speed at which this day arrived gives me whiplash. And not a small dose of emotion–how can I only have four more years with him at home? With that finish line rapidly approaching, I want to remove extraneous commitments from my day in order to make the most of the time I have left with him (and my daughter) here at home. The blog, in my opinion, has become extraneous.

I started this site as a way to showcase my writing about running so that I could have opportunities to write for running publications and web sites. Mission accomplished. Like many of you, I found that the blog took on a life of its own and took me to so many unexpected places, allowing me fantastic experiences and chances to meet some very cool people along the way. I am grateful for all that.

One of those opportunities is a new project I’m launching and I’m hoping that, as with the blog, you’ll come along for the ride. It’s a new podcast series called Running Story, and it will fall under the umbrella of an already established series handled by UpDoc Media. I’m hoping it will serve as something of a marriage between This American Life and running. I’ll be interviewing an incredible array of runners–some elites, many not, and everything in between. The common theme will be the colorful story that each of them can share with us. We plan to launch in full right after Labor Day, so keep your eyes (and ears!) open for it. We’d love your suggestions for guests, too, so let us know if you have someone you think we should put in front of the microphone.

I’ll also be staying in touch through Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and other platforms, so please reach out and keep me up to speed on your goings on.

Finally, thank you all so much for being my readers over the past several years. I have loved forging relationships with so many of you and that is probably the hardest part about giving up the blog. I will miss sharing the road with you here but will carry you with me as I move forward.

Moving on with new projects via @misszippy1 #runchat #podcasts #blogging…
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XO, Amanda