The December Runner Spotlight is on Danny Jun Li, who describes himself as a Principal IT Engineer “nerdy nerd.”
Those who have spent time around Danny might also note that he has a great sense of humor. He admits to being “shameless” and comfortable with being uncomfortable. Running at the Back of the Pack doesn’t embarrass him. He says, “I am slow, although I don’t look like I should be running that slow. I guess I am that type of runner aiming for distance [over] speed.” For a laugh every now and then, Danny says he “might get high, and I run a bit faster, and I enjoy the way people look at me [wondering] how come Danny runs out of BOTP!?”
No matter how fast—or slow—he runs, the benefits to his health have been immeasurable. Since summer 2023, Danny has lost 67 pounds because of his frequent running and says, “Life couldn’t be better. I’d say, running is my therapy!” After a good race, he might treat himself to “two scoops of coffee flavor ice-cream, but only after a half marathon or any run longer than that. In a short run,” he says, “I just follow my regular diet.”
Because of his athletic endurance, marathons might be Danny’s strong suit; he claims that he finds his body can handle the stress of running “long distances (somewhere between 18 miles to 23 miles) without taking a break.” Earlier in 2024, he finished his first full marathon in Salt Lake City, Utah, in what he calls his greatest running accomplishment to date. Reaching this marathon goal has been a decade long journey for Danny. He says he started to run in 2014 when he was living in Phoenix, Arizona, “to challenge myself for being able to run in the heat, so I participated [in] the Xterra Trail Run series and realized I enjoyed running.” After moving to Virginia, Danny began to run Bishop’s Events races in 2016 and now tries to participate in “50 events in person, 100 events if possible” each year. His favorite course has been the now-retired Columbia Island 10k.
Despite living in Virginia, Danny still travels regularly to run events in other states. His favorite course he has traveled to is the Zion National Park half marathon, and he would love to someday run the “Rapa-Nui Easter Island Marathon – let’s explore the mysterious island!” There are many reasons, though, why Danny continues to return to Bishop’s Events each weekend. For starters, he says, “Bishop’s is nearly the only running event that has its website well organized in [the] Virginia area!” He also appreciates that we “allow slow runners to start earlier,” that we offer “awesome medals” in unique designs, have what he dubs “ugly” signs “(like ‘I paid to do this’, or ‘I got a new PR’), lovely cones along courses (to prevent runners run into a wrong way, they look especially well in snow covered tracks), a VIP group for people to post junks and happiness about running, [and lifetime] events awards to encourage runners [to] keep running.” Most of all, Danny jokes that his favorite part of every event is when Phillip gets on the megaphone to call “10K Runners!!!.…” The event doesn’t really kick off until you hear Phillip’s booming voice across the start line!
Truly, Danny says that what he values most about Bishop’s Events is that it offers “a unique experience for belonging, makes runners a community, and I certainly love that.” Come race with Danny Jun Li at one of our next events!