Sunday Night With John: The Impromptu Half Marathon

Finally! I can breathe again. I’m out of the deep end of the pool.  After two months of an internship, summer classes, work, and public speaking I get a two-week break to relax, play video games, hang out with friends on a camping trip, and to do countless nice things for my wife since she picked up most of the slack this summer (when I say most, I mean all). I haven’t been this in over my head in a long time, but the last time I was it brought a smile to my face. Years ago, one of the teens I worked stated, if you let me run everyday I will make improvements and turn my life around. I quickly agreed and found two staff willing to supervise while re ran. These two wonderful staff talked to him into running a half marathon. He waffled on his decision a few times but his desire to run 31.1 miles get the best of him. The two staff quickly agree to run it with him. I felt great as a coordinator, as a person I worked with made a plan all on their own, and the plan was being executed.

He trained with staff supervising short runs around the track at the facility. I at this point was up to running 6 to 7 miles and arrived at work an hour early on two occasions to run with him on his 4 to 5 mile route.  My boss procures the money for the entry fee, new shoes, new running shirts, and running shorts. This kid beamed from ear to ear, and then the plan turns sideways on me.

One staff running with him moved to a new company due to family reasons. This lead to increasing my running with him to three days a week on his medium runs of 5 to 7 miles. A week before the race the other staff sprains his knee on one of their training runs. We have a young man ready to run 13.1 miles but he must do it under supervision.  We attempted to problem solve all week around how to get this kid who has trained for his half marathon to run it.  Someone in the agency has to be able to run with him right?  Friday the day before the race, no one has come forward stating they are in the shape to complete this run with this hard-working young man. The young man asked me for updates everyday on who would run with him. By Thursday of race week, he knew no one stepped up so he wouldn’t be able to run. After my update to him on Thursday my heart found its new location in my body, smack dab middle of my stomach.

Friday morning rolled around and even though my longest run this year was 7 miles, I decided I would attempt to gut out my first half-marathon. I told myself, John, you have a 20 mile hike under your belt and work out six days a week, you can survive this.  On Friday morning as I turned to give him my update, he said, “I know, I’m not running tomorrow.” I said, “Hold on, if you don’t mind going slow I will run with you.”

I woke up Saturday, I pick the kid up and we get to the race. We get him signed in, and I'm the second to last person to sign up. With five minutes to spare before the race begins we run to the car drop all of our stuff off and run back to the starting line, like I needed any extra miles.  We get there and take a deep breath from all the nerves around running this event today and the race starts.

As we weaved through the streets of Marion, Iowa, he started out really fast and had me thinking I was in big trouble. He eventually slowed down, and we ran the first 9 miles. He walked mile 10, and then we jogged the last three. He technically sprinted to the finish line and then turned away and said, “I beat you.”

Later that day I was hanging out with my future wife at an outdoor party, we didn’t know we would get married at that stage in our relationship. After I hashed out the details of my race I feel asleep on the grass. The most satisfying nap in my life.  We forget sometimes it’s good to throw ourselves and swim in the deep end of pool and to venture out to where success is not guaranteed. Because often times it leads to the best moments and feelings of our lives.