This week was a bit of a blur as my wife and I got ready to attend her brother’s wedding on Sunday, which we were looking forward to for a very long time. My marathon PR was 3:05 when he popped the question!
It was a beautiful day full to the brim with love. I love weddings, and the better I know the bride and groom the more this is true. We had a wonderful weekend.
That said, my past week of training feels much less consequential than such a Major Life Event, and also was pretty standard even when not weighed against the sacred bond of marriage, so I’ve been unsure what to post today.
In the spirit of the wedding, I think I can write a little about our groom. My brother-in-law is many things, but most recently—and most relevant to this blog—he has added “runner” to his resume.
He started with 5Ks a few years ago and caught the bug immediately. I think the twin pillars of community and competition you find at most local races spoke to him as both a lifelong theater kid and an all-purpose pick-up athlete. Sadly, he hurt his foot pretty badly in a freak Thanksgiving football accident, proposed to his now-wife in a boot, and was on the shelf for a while as far as running was concerned.
The comeback got serious when some friends encouraged (read: challenged) him to sign up for a sprint triathlon last summer. One sport is enough for me, personally, but our protagonist is not the kind to hit for contact. He’s always swinging for the cheap seats—remember, he’s a theater kid.
We went on vacation together around the time of the US Olympic Trials, and by then he was dialed in. We shared a few miles together most days that week and talked a lot about our training and our goals. I relished the chance to watch someone discover the sport in real time. That he went on to finish that triathlon after injuries and doubt was the icing on the cake.
After crossing your first triathlon finish, what could the next logical step be but a half marathon? He kept in shape through the fall with a few 5Ks. He put winter running gear on his Christmas list, but didn’t wait for it. He logged some miles with me on Christmas Eve. He got really sick, tweaked his knee, put on a few musicals, and crammed for the test with a ten-miler two weeks out from race day. He finished and crushed his goal time.
Watching my brother-in-law grow as a runner has been a blast. When you do it right, growing as a runner means growing as a person, too. Setting big goals, showing up on the good days and the bad, trusting your work, and enjoying the ride are skills that transfer anywhere. Maybe that’s why all the young folks are using their local running clubs to find a date.
Not this guy; he’s officially taken. Congrats!
theDNF 
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