Several runners I know have qualifed for the Boston Marathon in the last few months.

I'm excited for them, and it's got me thinking about running Boston a couple of years ago and what a wonderful experience it was.

It’s a fast-paced game with lots of goals, the players battling each other for the ball all over the field, plays being made off the boards and fans right on top of the action.

Sound like soccer?

It’s indoor soccer, and it’s a completely different game than the outdoor version, say several local coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

A race organized for more than 20 years by Human Kinetics is being renamed in honor of a late employee who was a strong advocate of running.

On occasion, when Rob Kanter was leaving for work on a not-so-nice day, his wife would ask, “You’re not going to ride to campus today, are you?”

Kanter would answer, “Only a lunatic would bike in this weather!”

Then he’d head out the door, hop on his bike and pedal to work.

It became a family joke.

It may be cold out, but there are still races going on. Here’s a look at the next month:

Call it a birthday resolution.

When Tony Hillen turned 29 shortly before Christmas 2011, he resolved he would not be overweight when he hit 30. He weighed 295 pounds, and he set a goal of losing 100 pounds during the next year.

When he weighed in a couple of weeks ago, as he was about to turn 30, he’d lost more than 115 pounds.

Time for a new goal.

Happy New Year from The Fit List!
Here’s a rundown of New Year’s Eve races in the area, so you can end 2012 right, and a trail race the first weekend in January, to start your 2013 racing:

New Year’s Eve:
— Body n’ Sole Sports New Year’s Eve Fun Run

Last week I wrote about Kurt Austin, who ran 12 half marathons or marathons, one each month, in 2012.

He’s not the only local runner who had a big racing goal for 2012.

Joe and Kelly Bails of Mahomet marked their 40th birthdays this year by running 40 races.

Kurt Austin has run races this year from Boone, N.C., to Portland, Ore., and from Omaha, Neb., to Austin, Texas.

The well-traveled Champaign runner has run a half-marathon or marathon every month — 12 races in 12 months in 2012.

The Fit List will be appearing less frequently in the next couple of months, as the races are getting fewer and farther between. But I’ll still have a list of winter races periodically.
Here’s the list through the first weekend in January:

Weekend of Dec. 8-9:
— Da Deer Run Run