My 10 Favorite Runs of 2012

As a great year in running finishes in style with the #12RunsOfChristmas, I wanted to take a look back at my own favorite races in 2012. What are yours? Here's my top 10:

1. Paris Marathon, April 22. Starting at the Arc de Triomphe (right) and running past the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel Tower and alongside the Seine and French-kissing your wife at the finish is not going to be beaten by any marathon anywhere.

2. Portugal Day 5M, June 17. Finished in 52:11 at Central Park, a 10:26 pace that marked my fastest since 2008. One of those sultry days when you feel light and fast.

3. Harrisburg Marathon, Nov. 11. Makeup race for the canceled NYC Marathon. Hated the 3 miles of nature hills that ruined my finish time, but everything else about it was wonderful and the race organizer was great.

4. NYC Half, March 18. Running through Times Square while the taxis are forced to go elsewhere is too cool not to be in the top 5.

5. Miami Marathon, Jan. 29. I.T. Band syndrome collapse at mile 16 cost me an extra hour. But man is that a beautiful course. Running through South Beach and out toward Key Biscayne is dreamy.

6. #12RunsOfChristmas, Day 1. I only had to run one mile on the first day, and I ran with my English Bulldog King Bingley. If you knew King Bingley you would laugh all the way.

7. Brooklyn Half, May 19. It's the best finish in running, at least in my experiences. You wind up on the boardwalk at Coney Island and then hit Nathan's for dogs and drinks. 2:29 finish OK for me.

8. All-Star Game 5K, July 8. Great course in Kansas City. When you have people like George Brett around, it has to be good. Bad bottleneck at the finish, but otherwise it was a blast.

9. Halifax, Yorkshire County, England, April 17. This was my favorite non-race training run of 2012. I ran in the rain in upper England while we were visiting family. Along the way I stopped at a historic cemetery and was moved by a tombstone that read: "PEACE PERFECT PEACE." I said a prayer for an entire cemetery of those who rest in peace. Then I ran onward to Sowerby Bridge, past fish & chips stops and breathed in the classic scenery on my first voyage to Europe.

10. NFL Back to Football Run, August 30. New York Road Runners brought in Giants players and decorated the start at Central Park with NFL team flags -- a great vibe on the night the season kicked off. 4 miles in 42:22, and it was fun to see all the runners in NFL jerseys. Great tech shirt, too.

Run for Central Park 4M

I mainly focus on marathons here, but I just wanted to say how good it felt to get back in the groove with a Central Park weekend race as part of my NYC Marathon training. The All-Star Game was awesome and at the same time 24/7 work for several weeks, as my role at MLB meant responsibility for a lot of the voting and MLB.com content leading up to and through the events. I had no chance whatsoever on the training week for several days...I just wanted to sleep.

Saturday morning at 7:30 I woke up and realized there was a race in an hour a block away at Central Park. The heat index was already in the 80s at that point. I threw on the Breathe-Right strip, iPod on left arm, sleeveless Underarmor, shorts, Balegas and Brooks and was out the door for same-day registration. It was a breeze, I got into the 9-minute pace group, and I had one of my best races since joining NY Road Runners. My time was 38:13 and my pace 9:33. It was a little off my 4M PR, but we were going counterclockwise, meaning running up Cat Hill, and also factoring in the heat index I was very happy with this time.

I'm back on track...now I just have to figure out how to train hard throughout my trip to Beijing Aug. 5-26 to work the Olympics for us.

Statues on Parade Marathon

Click here for my MLBlog about my Statues on Parade Marathon that I ran through New York City on the Fourth of July -- combining my love of running with seeing all 42 of our MLB Statues of Liberty on Parade. They are 10-foot replicas of the real Statue of Liberty. I ran from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and made lots of friends along the way. It could not really duplicate a true marathon because of the starting and stopping, but the net effect was pretty close, and the chafing was the worst (no fluid stations). Can you believe the Cubs statue is right next to the entrance of our New York Stock Exchange? That had better be a good omen for the economy! It was a little freaky if you know what I mean. Thank you to my friends at the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation for assisting me in escorting me right past the line and onto the boat! Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth. These were the fifth and 42 statues I saw...go see all of them and experience New York City like never before!