I’ve been reflecting on 2022 races while thinking ahead to 2023.
When running is the topic, people frequently say, “I could never do what you do.“
Reality:
The Matt Magnuson of 12 years ago would have said the same thing.
I couldn’t run to the mailbox back then.
I got sick of being fat. My health was causing anxiety and I was stressed about my longevity.
I started by taking walks, lifting a few weights and getting on the elliptical. And then I started the “Couch to 5k in 9 Weeks” program. I hated running, but I was running 3.1 miles without stopping by the conclusion of that plan. Months later I asked myself, “can I go 5 today?”. And then I ran 5 miles. Not long, it would then become 6.2 for the 10k. By this point I had already dropped the first 45 pounds…and more important, I fell in love with running and the goals got bigger.
An ah-ha moment occurred when 8 miles became 10 miles. Although I had only been running less than a year, I realized I was in striking range of running a half marathon. A few weeks later, I ran my first half marathon distance. My first 13.1 run occurred 352 days after committing to my new lifestyle. I ran the Prairie Fire Half Marathon a few months later for my first official 13.1 mile race. And after crossing the finish line I knew I’d be back the following year for the full marathon.
It took me over two years to become a marathon runner. It required consistent, commitment to a plan which over time built the discipline to keep going. It was a 1% improvement, a slow week over week burn. Not instant.
Life served up a curve ball when I was sidelined with spinal stenosis in January 2018. It was a setback, but the work continued. Once I could run again, I kept that slow, 1% improvement attitude all the way up to ultra-marathons, a 1000-day running streak, becoming a DDP Yoga instructor and everything else I’ve done since then.
But I didn’t do anything you can’t do. And maybe it isn’t running—find your something and be a relentless savage with it.
That 1%, slow-burn fitness growth mirrors life. You want to be a better husband? Better employee? Parenting? Lose weight? Develop new career skills? Grow in your faith? It’s all the same: get started, set goals, get 1% better each week.

2022 Run Recap:
• Run Wichita Superbowl 4-miler
• 4x4x48 Challenge
• Rockin’ K Marathon
• Smitty’s Run 5k
• Bill Snyder Half-Marathon
• Hell on Gravel 50k
• Race 4 Freedom 5k
• Pikes Peak Double (Ascent 13.1 miles + Marathon 26.2)
• KUS 24-Hour Race
• Dallas Marathon
• Completed 1,000 consecutive day running streak.

Merry Christmas y’all!!!