I ran one half marathon a month for a year and this is how it went

20 Sep, 2026

Starting from February of 2025, I decided to run one half marathon for each month. I celebrated its complete one-year cycle by the end of January 2026. I learned so much from this commitment, mainly as it let me reflect my life by the end of each month. This is a documentation of my experience.

Why I started this commitment

I started running before starting my undergraduate study back in 2020. In fact, I hated exercising before. I tried to practice how to jog for an exam and somehow I realized it was the best self-care amidst my study.

My progress was slow. I did my first 10K probably two years after jogging routinely. Moving to Bandung for my study made me love running even more to enjoy the city. I did my first half marathon on my 21st birthday–the reason behind my run-your-age birthday routine.

I moved back to my family house by the end of 2024, located in the town named Harapan Indah. It’s harder to have long runs there. The climate is hotter than Bandung, the flat terrain is not as exciting as Bandung. However, I’m determined to keep up my progress, especially on maintaining long runs.

When 2025 came, something clicked on me as I saw a mutual in Strava (hi Bostang!) celebrated his monthly streaks of half marathon. I remembered he was doing crazy tracks around Jakarta and Bekasi–even starting his run on ungodly hours. I thought if he can do it, I should try doing it too here–even in this town.

Full tour of Harapan Indah

Harapan Indah is a planned township located at the border between East Jakarta and Bekasi (or also jokingly known as The Other Planet by locals).

I started this challenge to fulfill a bucket list I had been thinking since coming back to the town: run a full tour of it! Harapan Indah consists of many complexes and area. It’s a slow developing town so we had big empty plots with long streets in between which were interesting to tour around. Looking at the map, there were at least four different areas to reach with their own landmarks.

Tour of Harapan Indah Map — My usual half marathon track in Harapan Indah

Each month, I might follow the same track, but definitely something different colored the experience. I started to listen to Indonesian podcasts, mainly on Indonesian social and political news. I found it hard to keep following recent news mindfully while working a full-time job. I used my monthly long runs to listen to long-formed news, mainly Bocor Alus Politik–a podcast run by the national news outlet Tempo.

The Two-Way Street - Early morning view in one of the town's street

I didn’t have fixed time to do the run. It can be on the evening, early morning, or even close to midnight.

On May, I started my run at 8 PM and I wrote:

I had to start the run quite late since it had been raining. I told myself that “this is just a chill long run to enjoy Saturday night” but I nearly killed myself over and over again due to the slippery road and direspectful drivers. 🙃

Apparently you can dissect a media during a run

The fifth run on June was interesting. It was a slow run and I walked a lot. At that month, I had less effort in training due to work and study. Probably, it was the month I had an interview with the ICTP diploma program coordinator.

I used this session to listen more about the mass murder and rape in May 1998 in my country. Again, it was a podcast in Bocor Alus Politik. At that month, the Indonesian minister of culture lied in public and tried to dismiss the mass rape towards Chinese-Indonesians back in 1998. Unfortunately for him, this sparked public discussion more to learn about this history and the government’s sin.

“If the government wants to rewrite history upon truth, they can’t do it while having the perpetrator as the country’s president and a part of the government.”

I remembered stopping my run so I could walk because I was sad and angry listening to the victims’ stories. I even pulled out the trust-worthy notepad to write down key points I wish to remember.

Translated to English, this is my note from the podcast:

Remembering the Violence of May 1998

During the May 1998 riots, mass rapes occurred, with the majority of victims being ethnic Chinese. Most of the victims were women, although several men also became victims of genital mutilation.
Komnas Perempuan was established as a government response to the sexual violence in 1998. President Habibie acknowledged and apologized publicly for these events. When the incidents were reported to Habibie, the military and police commanders at the time attempted to discredit and intimidate the people who reported them.
Ethnic Chinese people became the primary targets in these events because of a history of hostility toward the ethnic Chinese population dating back to the colonial era. The rapes occurred within a recurring pattern in Indonesia, in which women’s bodies and sexuality are made into sacrifices during war or periods of sociopolitical transition. In this case, Chinese women became the primary victims because they were among the most vulnerable groups, particularly within the context of patriarchy and the strong hierarchical structure of Chinese culture.
These events reveal signs of intervention that orchestrated the riots. Before the riots, several close-cropped men were seen encouraging local people to “touch” certain women. The idea that the ethnic Chinese would become extinct was also propagated. In light of these facts, it is important to remember that the 1998 riots were not simply riots carried out by members of the public, but a mass massacre organized by a particular group. It is highly likely that the riots were carried out to weaken the student movement, which played an important role in pushing for the Reformasi era. This is evidenced by rioters wearing school uniforms despite not actually being students.
The rewriting currently being undertaken by Fadli Zon is a process of history washing and misguided glorification of Indonesia. If history is to be rewritten in pursuit of truth, the first step should be acknowledging the wrongs of the past. Moreover, given the fact that Indonesia’s current president was an important actor in the 1998 mass killings, the truth cannot be guaranteed by the government. Truth cannot be obtained when history is written by perpetrators of wrongdoing.

What I wish to point out from this experience is that my long run was not a fitness activity anymore. It became a space to commit my time on dissecting a piece of media, mainly in audio format. I dedicate it to learn something that I couldn’t do in my other daily activities. Doing it while running was also fitting because I find myself being the most mindful during my run. My long run doesn’t have to exclusively be a physical labor.

The shown note can be an example of what to do to practice this. Listen to a podcast and try to write down your favorite pointers in your note.

Disclaimer: In contrast, running without listening to any media is also therapeutic! I try to find the balance on the number of times I run with and without it. Without media, I let my mind runs loose and I often find new inspirations and reflections during the activity.

Last two runs before moving to Trieste

On the end of July, I realized that I must explore my surroundings more before moving to another country for my postgraduate study. As I logged in my Strava:

🌟 This month’s special: Knowing I’m only almost a month away to leave, I let myself experiment more for this monthly run. Last friday, Kak Tiara told me about how some countries in Southeast Asia applied nature-based solutions by converting an area to open water, letting it be a catchment area and also a green space for public. Taman Sungai Kendal (Kendal River Park) is actually an example for this!
I can’t believe this park is only 5 km away from my home. I pushed my comfort zone and tried to enjoy the East Flood Canal (BKT) roads. After the narrow road and fishy unique smell of it, I say it’s worth it to see the park. It was full of people enjoying the nice views. I also used the navigation feature in my Coros watch for the first time. It did well to let me navigate without phone.
☁️ This month’s reflection: My close friends would know that I’m a bad overthinker. I let my mind spiral and sometimes I just ponder on the worst scenarios in the future–knowing it’s all out of my control. Running helps me to just focus in the moment and through the fast-paced life with work, these monthly long runs are my last moments to wind down and reflect on what happened the past month. I’m grateful to still be here: to move my body, to enjoy my surroundings, and simply to just be.

On August, I did my old-time bucket list to do a half marathon at the center of Jakarta. It is not easy to do this because I needed more than an hour to commute from my town to the center of the capital city. As written in my Strava log:

For the last HM in Indonesia, I went for my old bucket list: hit a HM in Jakarta Car Free Day. It’s not ideal, the logistic is too complicated since my house is too far away. However, i did it and the scenery through the tower of Monas is worth it. 🌟
My legs went out after the session and I can’t lie down randomly in the street like what I usually do around Harapan Indah. 🥲
Kilometre of 16–17.5 is accompanied by Kak Anggi (Thanks Kak for the quick boost!). 🤗

The national icon, Monas, located at the center of Jakarta was surprisingly my favorite view from that run

Processing my feelings after moving abroad for the first time

First arrival

I carried my routine even to Trieste. While adapting to a new place, maintaining your routine is definitely a way to keep you grounded. As I recited often to my new friends, “my routine is to do at least one 10K in a week and one 21K in a month.”

Moreover, how can you NOT run in Europe? Trieste is a port city so it is truly wonderful to run along the coastline. My first half marathon on September went like this:

A month has been passed and I’m grateful to say I have felt somewhat settled in this new place. My first days were rough just to be in Trieste, but what helped me the most are the people, the international students here. My favorite thing to be here is not the view nor the food, but the community I can find in this institution.
I felt like talking to a long lost friend right away with my roommate who showed me everything I need to know. On the first day of my meeting with my classmates, we got stranded in the city and laughed through the struggle of navigating a city with a language we haven’t understood. I felt right in place while cooking and sharing culture with people from different continents.
I feel hopeful for my time here. I know I will learn more things through just one year compared to my previous years and I hope I can take a piece of something from everyone I have met here.

A view near Miramare Castle — The track was to go back-and-forth from our apartment to Miramare Castle. Close to the castle, you see this view of the city center faraway with hills surrounding it. At that spot, I often thought to myself, 'Hey, look! I ran from that point to here, along the coastline. Isn't that cool?

In memoriam of Prof. Aoudia

The show must always go on, even when I am faced with sudden grief. Our beloved instructor passed away on the second month of my study. I learned to use running as a way to grieve: to dedicate my sacred routine to someone. As I run, that person continues to live on within my memories. I wish to honor them during my run and thus I am also celebrating both life and their passing.

Written tenderly by the end of October 2025:

I dedicate this run to Professor Aoudia who passed away last Monday. At that day, we were supposed to have another class with him. Last friday, we had our last class with him. I presented my past thesis to him and he gave us a new homework to read and present his chosen paper. When we received the news, Cedric said “what a big loss, think about his PhD students.” However, we’re also his youngest students who he promised to guide from the scratch.
Since Monday, the weather had been gloomy and rainy. It’s like the city had been grieving with us. Today, finally I woke up to sunlight. With the good weather we have today and how I see my classmates are looking better now, I feel more hopeful and also think of him.
Aoudia is a beloved professor who’s able to change someone’s worldview in just a few classes. He conviced me that anyone can learn Earth science quickly, but physics is the key to fundamentally understand it. He showed me that himself, as a former math person, can do it. He was a pioneer in seismology and made me appreciate Indonesia’s potential in the context of this field.
I will miss him and everytime I have a revelation while learning Earth science, I will thank him. Thank you professor!

Trieste's Sunset — It's been rainy on October 2025, but at that day, the sunset was warm as I honored Karim

Winter and birthday

Winter was coming and Trieste showed its infamous strong, cold, and dry bora wind. On November 2025, I recited:

I didn’t think I’ll ever need to run with a jacket, a proper baselayer, and a beanie. This month, it all changed and I finally faced the winter-like weather in Trieste. The first day we experienced bora wind, we couldn’t sleep well since the gust was so loud through the night. I laughed when we struggled to just walk outside because the wind pushed us. I also discovered that a good beanie is my new emotional support item.
This month is all about the first experience living through the cold weather for me. If I were not studying Earth science, I’ll probably be scared of the storm and refused to go outside, facing the wind for no reason. However, with my professors’ lectures in mind, it’s easy to actually be fascinated with the weather. Truly, we only fear what we don’t understand.
With the colder temperature, I also find myself losing the motivation to be active and to take care of myself. By the end of the month, I just realized that this needs to stop and I have to actively choose myself over and over again.

Trieste View — By the end of November 2025 run, I wrote: 'This city definitely captured my heart. I will miss the coasts and ports where we can see the little cheese church up in the hill and the iconic tower of the city.'

When December came, I used my half marathon routine to fulfill my birthday run routine. I ran 23 km, my longest distance, at the city I grew to adore.

Another year, another run for my turning years. In my mind, this tradition is a way to appreciate myself by knowing that in the end, I’m the one who carries myself in life on every step. From Bandung to Trieste, I’m grateful to be able to keep pushing forward and pursuing what I consider to be right.

After the run, I ate dinner with other friends here and it’s always the best part of celebrating the day.

Birthday Dinner — I invited my friends to eat dinner at Afghan Ristorante. I went there right after finishing my birthday run so I was sweaty and bold with shorts amidst the winter weather. From left to right: Pashmal, Natha, Burak, Bee, Nar, Cedric, and William. Have I mentioned that I love my friends? I DO and in these moments, I felt it strongly!!!

In memoriam of my grandmother

The start of 2026 was not as easy. By the end of the christmas break, I grieved for the passing of my grandmother. As I tenderly wrote after my monthly run:

Dedicated to my grandmother who passed away last friday
In my indigenous language, I call her Ompung
Ompung whose face I took while I don’t look like my parents at all (she would laugh if she knew people here mistook me as a Chinese or South American)
Ompung who walked long distance during my childhood, inspiring me to grow old as strong as her
Ompung who nurtured my love to animals because I played with her dogs and chickens as a child
Ompung who hugged me tightly before I left the country as she told me that it might be her last time seeing me
Ompung who had good humor and loud laugh even on her old age
Ompung who raised my mother and her siblings to be resilient and to care for her deeply until her last moment

To these days, the pictures I took from that run was my favorite memories of Trieste. I am grateful to attach my memories of my grandma to the beautiful sceneries that comforted me in Trieste.

The Port — My favorite spot along the ports of Trieste, named Riva Ottaviano Augusto

Grandma's Sunset — From all of the sunsets I captured in Trieste, this is definitely a special one which I attach to the memory of my grandmother

Through one year and twelve runs, I realized running helps me to experience life to the fullest. In this fast-paced world, you need something to leave your mark in this running life. Perhaps, running helps you to do so: to celebrate life, to process your feelings, and truly to be.

#Fitness #Yearly Reflection