Today's highlight was a visit with a running buddy I've known for over 40 years. Patti and I have run a whole lot of miles together in the past. And, although Patti is no longer running, we still thoroughly appreciate the joy of our friendship.
I wrote about our friendship in honor of the occasion of her 50th birthday (a couple of decades ago). I found that piece commemorating 21 years and 4,959.2 miles of running together - and really can't improve upon it today. Thus I bring you a few excerpts illustrating just how powerful a friendship a running partnership can be:
"... As I perused my logs, tallying these miles, I was
reminded of the brilliant tapestry of experiences we shared as we roamed street
and trail. Gaps in the log highlight the
births of our children followed by many miles of discussions ranging from
whooping cough to changing voices, diaper rash to electric razors, preschool
parties to high school graduation. It is
with my running partner that I learned the trails of northwest Boulder, discovered the
joys of running alleyways, created new names for flowers .... We have seen each other through
the roller coaster of marriage, troubles of the workplace, and the fears of
health crises; through the joys of babies, the rewards of promotions and the
accomplishments of our athletic exploits.
"...With the hours spent chattering side by side, there is no room for
hidden agendas or jealousies. As running
partners, we revel in the ease of companionship that hundreds of miles have
woven into our souls. This is not to say
that we don’t have our differences.
Patti runs to the minute of her planned workout; I run plus or minus a
half hour or so. Patti’s home was
actually featured on Home and Garden TV; my home looks like an indoor tornado
paid a visit. Patti is a cardiac nurse;
I fainted every time I set foot in a hospital until I had my children...
"...Patti is speedier than I and would often take the lead during our
regular track workout days. I love the
long run and tend to lead the charge uphill.
But at the end of the interval or at the top of the climb, we are there
for each other with a grunt if we’re tired or, on our more energetic days, a
snippet of gossip to fill the break until our next surge. Our most exhilarating
race was run shoulder to shoulder, straining every step of the way, crossing
the line together – not planned but because that is just how fast and how in
synch we were that day. It was not a
competition; rather it was a synergistic drive to excellence…made possible by
the hundreds of hours on hundreds of long run Saturdays and fast run Tuesdays
and the myriad of hills, valleys, curves and straights run together.
"...So what is it about running partners that makes them so special? Is there some sort of magic elixir in the
sweat flinging from our brows? Does the
drive to achieve athletic prowess bring us together? I believe it is something much simpler, much
more precious. It is the thousands of
golden moments spent unfettered in the open air, wind in our hair, footfalls
pattering in harmony as we move through the world together, stride for stride,
happy to be alive, happy to have a friend at our side – a friend who has seen
our good, our bad, our ups, our downs and yet who is always ready with a smile
when our next run rolls around. Patti
once said, during the winter I was training for my first Boston, that the running gods were smiling on
me because we had such glorious running weather. I believe the running gods were smiling on me
when they gave me such a glorious running partner."
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| Running Honolulu Marathon together step for step ~11 months after each of us gave birth We referred to the aid stations as "rest stops" |
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