Closing the Gap

Found this interesting motivation article from Runner’s World online…

Closing the Gap

Paths may diverge, but good running buddies can always fall back into stride

By Tish Hamilton

"Hey, you crazy girl!"

As I neared the turnaround on Big Sur's out-and-back marathon course, my old friend lunged out of the stream of returning runners. We paused for a quick sweaty hug. "There you are," I said, "I'm so glad to see you! How are you? I'll catch you later."

Six months earlier, my friend had e-mailed me: "Let's do Big Sur!" We exchanged fantasy scenarios about training together, knowing it was nearly impossible given the 45 miles we lived apart. We had first trained together 20 years ago, for a hilly 26.2 in New York State. We went for long runs, then out for pancakes. Met up for bottle(s) of red wine. On race day, she went out hard, determined to qualify for Boston. Leery of the hills, I let her go. I caught up with her around the 17-mile mark, and we ran the rest of the race as hard as we could—me refusing to let her walk, her cursing me. We didn't get Boston that year, but we crossed the finish line together. Over two decades, we've shared major life milestones—weddings, layoffs, babies—often by running.

Read on here.