We had a great run last week for the Monthly Mile. We had six runners log their first BAR Monthly Mile time and five other set new PRs. Additionally, one of the new PRs was the fastest time we’ve seen on the track, 4:40! Great job to all the new and returning runners.

If you’re interested in tracking your improvements in running, we run a timed mile the first Tuesday of every month at the Boise High track. Details and a list of times is available on our Monthly Mile page.

It’s time for a Running Clinic. Details are below and you can sign up here.

We’ve been going through some behind-the-scenes changes recently within the club. We’ve now adopted our first set of official by-laws and are in the process of becoming a member of the Road Runners Club of America. Most of the time, this won’t change how the runs have been happening. What it will do is help provide guidelines for the club as well as a structure for everyone’s voice to be heard.

More details will be coming soon, but for now, if you’re interested in becoming a BAR Ambassador (voting member of BAR), check out our Membership Page.

The other change we made was to set up a Square account so we can now take credit card payments. It’s set up for donations currently, but we’ll be adding the option to purchase BAR swag soon. No more need to carry paper money on the run just to buy a T-shirt at the end.

These may be little things, but I’m still excited to see it happening.

Apparently Mark Zuckerberg has encouraged people to run a mile a day. He feels it will improve people’s overall health, which is probably true. Looking into it, there’s a group that tracks people who have run at least a mile a day for at least one year! The numbers on the Running Streak page are crazy. Some runners have been going for over 30 years without missing a single day. I’ve been running for years and that still seems like a lot of running. I’m interested in seeing how long I can go without missing a day (or more  likely doing too many miles and getting injured).

Anyone interested in starting a BAR Running Streak club?

So a central part of the Greenbelt is closed until Fall 2016 because of construction on the Broadway Bridge. This will impact many of our Greenbelt runs. There is a detour around the construction which is mapped out here. This extra section adds about 0.5 miles to any Greenbelt loop (unless you were planning to go across the Broadway Bridge, of course).

On the north side of the river (through Julia Davis park), take the last driveway out of the park to Myrtle St. Stay on Myrtle past the Ram as it becomes Park and take the first road on the right, Ferguson St. This will lead you back to the Greenbelt.

Going back, get off the Greenbelt just after the small wooden foot bridge and follow Leadville Ave south for one block. Turn right on Belmont St then right on Longmont Ave. This takes you behind Chili’s and brings you to Broadway just outside the construction area. Cross Broadway and stay on Cesar Chavez Ln until you can get back on the Greenbelt.

The whole detour should be well signposted but if you have any questions about where to go, grab one of the regular runners at the next Greenbelt run and they’ll make sure you don’t get lost.

One thing to note about the map is that Google doesn’t seem to know about the stairs up to the W Parkcenter Bridge which adds a larger loop than you need to run.

What better way to start the new year than with a timed mile? We had 9 people participate in the Monthly Mile this week and are now looking at improving their times throughout the year.

Although it was above freezing for the first time in several weeks, not all the ice had melted from the track. There were still a few spots where footing was less than ideal. That said, we had some good mile times posted. For the complete list, check out the Monthly Mile page and better still, join us next month. See you then.

As 2015 ends and 2016 begins, there are several great runs coming up. We’re doing a trail run in Military Reserve Park on New Year’s Eve Morning for anyone looking for some fun. We also have several runners participating in the YMCA New Year’s Day 5k and if interested in testing yourself, but don’t want to pay for a race, there’s another Monthly Mile on Tuesday. You can join us at the Boise High School Track to get a timed mile and then you can spend all year working to improve your time. So many fun options! We look forward to running with you soon. Happy New Year