In the May edition of Runner?s World, John Bingham writes in his column No need for Speed about Running Buddies and the purpose they serve in his running life. This subject got me thinking about my own running buddies.
My buddies range in age from early twenties to late forties, and with the exception of the odd (descriptive in so many ways) male, they are female. The core group of women have been together as a group for almost eight years, starting out with walking and moving into running as fitness levels, goals and competitive spirits have increased. In the beginning there was a drive to improve, to race and compete, if only against ourselves, our ever increasing age and decreasing times. Lately though we have begun to settle, to be happy with the status quo, to be less interested in racing and maybe even running and more interested in the act of getting together.
My running pals have seen each other through potty training (their kids), weight gain and loss (their own), infidelities, divorce, teenagers, jobs gained and lost, cancer scares, treatments and looming treatments. We have laughed together, cried together and entertained each other. We have gathered as a group, originally twice a week and now once a week as busy lives and families take precedence but always manage to make time for each other on special occasions, monumental accomplishments and ?just because? we are in need of that special brand of support only those you have sweat with can provide.
It has been stated that as a group we appear intimidating but we are open and encouraging of anyone wanting to join in; male or female, young or old; and we have recently grown to 17 members running, walking, pushing babies and trotting with dogs. Individually we have run everything from 5k to 100k with the help and support of one another by being available for long or fast runs, by providing sustenance like ju jubes or cookies or just listening to a race post mortem.
I started out as a lone runner, slogging out mile after mile by myself and have discovered over time that the best thing about running is in fact running with my buddies at whatever speed and distance suits our mood, as long as it?s slow enough that we can chat about life, ourselves and things that are or are not important. My buddies have shown me with great clarity that life is not only about the journey but who you share the journey with. If you would like to join myself and my buddies for a run or a chat, call 921-7752.
On Saturday April 9 Josiah and Paul Cuttjeboer competed in the Subaru Jordan 5k in Jordan Station.
On Sunday April 11 the 4th annual Pitter Patter 5k/10k was run from Loyalist College in absolutely beautiful, sunny weather. With a record 125 registered runners, the promise of warm weather brought the total runners to 173. For complete results go to
www.redballradio.com.
