April 10, 2024
Meet our 20-Timer: Christopher James
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Where you are from? Wilmington DE
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Why did you decide to run in the Delaware Running Festival in 2004? I decided to run Delaware back in 2004. At that time, it had been many years since Delaware had a marathon. I was just getting into running marathons and with a few friends, we thought the chance to run one in our home state was too good to pass up.
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What is the most memorable year for you and why? The most memorable year for me was 2011 because it’s literally when I met my wife. We still talk about it and it’s crazy to think we’ve now been married for 11 years and have an 8 and 10-year-old.
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Why do you keep coming back to run in Delaware? At first, I came back to run Delaware every year because of the camaraderie that I had with a running club- Rebel Runners. We would all participate in the distance solo or as team relays and then have this awesome tailgate party afterward. It was one of these tailgates where I met my wife in 2011.
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What has changed since the first year? The biggest thing that’s changed is the course. It started out as the same loop around the riverfront 4 times, then expanded out to the city for a 2 loop course and now it’s one continuous 26.2 mile course.
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What are you looking forward to most about this year?Over the years, I ran the full marathon multiple times, half marathon many more times and participated in 4 and 8 person team relays. One year there was a 10 mile option and I’ve run the 5K which was recently added. The only distance I haven’t run is the 10K, which I’m looking forward to this year and celebrating the 20 years of Delaware.
