Running isn’t just about going fast. Right?
But it feels good when you do. So I’ll keep track of my personal records here and update them as I improve. I will also include a link back to the race report from each of those PRs.
- Marathon: 3:06:18
- Half Marathon: 1:27:54
- 10k: 40:25
- 5k: 19:28
Marathon PRs
The 2024 Chicago Marathon followed a familiar pattern for me. I started strong, faded, missed my goal … but still set a new PR. I was hoping to break 3 – or at least get to 3:01 or 3:02. I was again on pace for the first half, and I faded in the end to a 3:06:18 finish. Next time.
The 2024 Jersey City Marathon didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped – but it was still good for a PR of 3:08:32. I went out too fast, and after a 1:31 first half I faded hard in the second half. But I still knocked more than a full minute off my time at Erie.
After a poor showing at the Jersey City Marathon in April 2023, I got redemption at the Erie Marathon at Presque Island in September. Despite warm, humid conditions, I finished in 3:09:47. Read the race report here. I felt strong through the first 20 miles in this race, and by far it was the most prepared I’ve ever felt for a marathon.
Before that, my marathon PR was 3:20:30, set at the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2022. Read the race report here. I was coming off a minor injury, so it wasn’t quite as fast as I had hoped. But I was still happy with the result. It was also a brutally cold morning.
My previous marathon PR was 3:35:14, set at the Atlantic City Marathon in October 2021. Read the race report here. This was my first marathon, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going in. I went out a little fast and faded towards the end, but 3:35 was way better than I thought I could run at the beginning of my training.
Half Marathon PRs
My current half marathon PR is 1:27:54, from the 2024 RBC Brooklyn Half. I had an aggressive goal of 1:25, and I knew by the halfway point I wasn’t going to make it so I slowed down a bit. So I left a little time on the course, and I plan to knock it down a bit in my next attempt.
For a long time, my half marathon PR was 1:32:58, set at the Coastal Delaware Running Festival in April 2022. Read the race report here. This was my first official half marathon in a long time, and I was thrilled with the result. I faded a little bit in the last few miles, but it was a pretty strong race overall.
My previous half marathon PR was 1:54:54, set at the Jersey Shore Half Marathon back in October 2014. That was set in a previous running life, before I got more serious about training.
10k PRs
I ran a 40:25 in the Everybody’s 10k Race at Liberty State Park in October 2023. However, I think the course measured slightly short, so I’m waiting for another 10k to set a “real” PR.
Before that, I ran 40:59 at the Essex County Cherry Blossom 10k in April 2023. Read the race report here. I was feeling pretty good going into this race, and I had hoped to break 40 minutes. I split the first 5k at 20:15, before fading a bit in the second half. But it was a good race overall.
My previous 10k PR was 42:06, set at the Essex county Cherry Blossom 10k in April 2022. Read the race report here. This was my first official 10k, and it was much better than the previous time trials I’d run. It was also a cold and rainy day.
5k PRs
After finishing the Erie Marathon in September 2023, I took some time to recover and then focused on the 5k. Over the course of the season, I slowly worked my time down from 20:49 to 20:25, then 19:59, and then 19:42. I wrapped up the season with my current PR (19:28) at the Rutgers Big Chill in December.
Going into the fall of 2023, my 5k PR is 20:49, set at the Fitzgerald’s 5k Lager Run in June 2023. Read the race report here. I was in better shape than the time suggests, but it was very hot that evening. This also happened to be the USATF-NJ 5k Championship, and I was happy to finish in the top 100 men.
Previously, I ran 20:59 at the Verona Labor Day Classic in September 2022. This was also a very hot day. My PR before that was 21:06, set at the Rutgers Big Chill 5k in December 2021. That September, I ran 21:43 at the Stop for Nikhil 5k.
My best 5k time before that was 25:29, also set at the Rutgers Big Chill back in 2014.