Five best (and unusual) sports moments of 2013

Photo Credit: Andrew Miller/For The Times of Trenton

Since we are in the midst of the Season of Reminiscing, a magical time during which all attention is put towards compiling memories in the form of lists, we here at FanSided have decided to bring you our own take on the time-honored tradition of exploiting short-term nostalgia for page views.

So how is our list different from any of the thousands of similar lists you’ll be inundated with over the next few weeks? Well, our list has no LeBron James, no Chris Davis, no David Ortiz, no reference to the blackout orchestrated by Roger Goodell to atone for the lack of advertising time created by the Super Bowl’s unusually fast-paced first half. Does this make our list somehow “better” than other such lists? Duh, of course it does.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the five moments, accomplishments, and all-around instances of bad-assery from 2013 we hope you will tell your children and/or clones about years from now.

5) Anthony Russo’s 26:43 5K
He’s five. That’s really all that needs to be said.

4) Diana Nyad Swims to Florida
When I turn 64 years old, I’ll be pleased if I’m even able to locate Cuba and Florida on a large-print map, much less swim between the two places unassisted.

3) Russia Hosts Tank Biathlon
So I kinda thought 2013 would be the year I got into NASCAR, but that dream died the second I learned Russia has races involving tanks. Step up your game, U.S.A. We didn’t win the Cold War just to have Russia make us look like sissies.

2) Zoë Romano’s Remarkable Run
It boggles my mind that this story didn’t receive more attention this summer. In case you didn’t know, Romano freakin’ ran the Tour de France. Ran. As in on foot. She even conquered the final 90 miles in one day because, you know, coasting to the finish just doesn’t cut it.

1) Sarah Outen Conquers the Ocean
In a feat of strength as impressive mentally as it is physically, 28-year-old Sarah Outen spent five months all alone in the frigid ocean as she rowed from Japan to Alaska. That’s almost 3,800 miles of conditions like this. Yeah…considering most people I know, myself shamefully included, start to panic after two hours without checking text messages or Facebook pokes, I’d say Outen’s journey is beyond laudable.