The goal: Running a marathon before my 30th birthday. The next step: A 10k. The New York Road Runners call the 10k the “perfect racing distance for most runners”. The NYC Marathon training schedule for first-time marathoners might be a good place to start, even if I’m not looking at an actual 26-miler until next October at the very earliest possible.

The Darien Road Race would be a good one to run (trying to stay in the running-for-charity theme), but I don’t think I’d be ready for that by next weekend.