Respect the Distance…

A Runner’s Saying….

No matter what distance you plan on running, you need to understand the distance and the time and training it will require to finish that distance. Respect the distance.

And that goes for all projects and goals in life. For writers, it can apply to writing a novel, or learning publishing, and so on and so on.

As a runner, I finished two full marathons. 26 plus miles each. One when I was thirty and one when I was seventy. I trained well for the one when I was 70 because I knew the distance because I had finished 5 half-marathons in the previous five years. I did not expect to puncture the bottom of my foot with a rock at the six mile point, but I still finished. Barely. I should have sat down beside the road and called 911, but I did not.

I respected the challenge of doing 75 major books in one year, starting on my birthday in November 2025 and ending on my birthday this year. I paced it, learned new things to get each book done, And when I felt like I was falling behind, I pushed extra hard to stay on my schedule.

And with any challenge that lasts over time like this one did, I ran into  things I did not expect. For example, I expected to be able to do 60 or more 10-story collections, but my short story files were in such a disaster, I could only dig out enough for 38 original 10-story collections. Not like puncturing my foot with a rock at the 6 mile mark, but that set me back for a while and got me off schedule.

Most writers have no comprehension of this kind of thing, just as most humans can’t imagine running 26 miles. Or even 3 miles in a 5K charity run. Why? Because the person’s training makes them think such things are not possible.

Belief system and training.

But these kinds of goals are very possible if you respect the challenge, respect the distance, and train far enough ahead for what you are going to try.

I had it all worked out on how fast I could run a distance, how fast I could walk a distance, and when I should walk or run. My best time for a half-marathon (13 miles) was in 2019 at the age of 69 at two hours, fifty-six minutes. After my crash-and-burn three years ago, I will never see that pace again. But that’s all right. Got to give a few concessions to age.

But to do this 75 book challenge, I figured out how long it took me to do an electronic cover, including finding the art.

I calculated a rough number of hours to find ten stories and get them in one file and then into one master document.

I calculated a rough amount of time it took to layout a book in Vellum.

I knew the time per book, worked it all out with my other tasks, and set the schedule.

I have taught for years that if you focus, you can write final draft about 10 pages per day (2,500 words) and finish a 70,000 word novel in a month. 5 pages a day will get you six novels in a year. And so on.

You set it, your practice it, you respect the distance. And then it all adds up.

Any writer can do it for any challenge.