It’s getting to be that time of year.

Everyone makes New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions.

To be honest, I generally avoid making resolutions, mostly because I probably don’t want to make too close of an examination of what I should resolve to do or I might end up with a three-page list.

About 99 percent of New Year’s resolutions involve losing weight or getting in better shape.

Gym memberships spike in early January and by February many of those same gyms are like ghost towns that could just as well have tumbleweeds blowing through them.

And my resolution to get in better shape would probably fall victim to a similar fate.

So I need a carrot, something to shoot for, something to motivate me.

I’ve used this method before with good results. When I was living in Minot and working at the Minot Daily News, I committed to run a leg of a marathon relay, which meant months of training, losing weight and getting into shape.

Here is an excerpt from a column I wrote after successfully running in the Trestle Valley Marathon about 31?2 years ago.

Immediately I knew I wouldn’t be the typical competitor in the race. Along with the general personal information you needed to fill out to enter, they asked you what size race shirt you wanted.

The options were as follows: S, M, L and XL.

Even at a semi-svelte 265 pounds, you couldn’t squeeze me into an XL t-shirt with the jaws of life and a tub of petroleum jelly. Only after the race finished did I find out there’s a Clydesdale Division for men over 190 pounds.

That would still make me almost a Clydesdale and a half (think about that for a second ladies).

Regardless, I spent most of my winter running 3-4 times a week, and got into decent shape.

I got to the point where I could comfortably run four miles at a pretty good pace.

It worked and I am hoping it will work again. As the new year approaches, I am pledging to drop some pounds and get in better shape while training to run in another marathon – this time the 2013 Fargo Marathon in May.

Right now, I’m in such bad shape, I couldn’t probably do much better than walk the 5-6 miles it would take to compete in a marathon leg.

So I’ve got some work to do. But I did it before and I think I can do it again.

It always helps to have a carrot. So for the New Year, I’m going to resolve to be a rascally rabbit and chase that carrot until I’m back to my semi-svelte 265, or maybe even able to fit back into an XL t-shirt.