Nourish is more than a training playground. It is a place to discover your element of play. What makes you move? For me—well, that’s easy. I enjoy connecting with others and capturing their story. . .

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2007. My First Marathon

My first marathon was in Lincoln, Nebraska. I am not a fast runner by any stretch, I consider myself slow, yet steady. However on this particular event, I played a bit of back and forth with another gentleman on the course. He would run beside me for a bit, then pass me. Three or four minutes later, I would find myself running ahead of him. A little later, he was next to me again. We went back and forth like this for about an hour. Each time he passed me I became more and more curious about the markings on the back of his shirt. Finally when he passed me for the umpteenth time, I mustered up the courage to inquire about his t-shirt he was wearing.

“Sir,” I asked, “I can’t help but notice the back of your shirt has the abbreviations of all the States in the USA; several of them are circled. Why?”

He smiled proudly and proceeded to tell me that he completed a marathon in each state that is circled. He said, “When I cross the finish line today, Nebraska will be my 37th state.” I couldn’t believe it! Then I asked, “Do you mind if I ask you how old are you?” He smiled a bigger smile, “76!” Jaw. Hit. Floor.

He could see my surprise and asked if I wanted to hear his story. His wife died of cancer and he was widowed in his 50’s. This was a dynamic shift in his life and he was not coping well with it. He felt God tugging on him. Get up. Do something. He never owned a pair of running shoes, but was encouraged by friends and family to take up running. It took. Running became his drug. He began to sign up for a number of running events. (Side bar: you get to know people of your same pace time pretty well on these not-so-fast, long distance endurance events.) Therefore, he made notice of another gentleman who became a familiar face in these community events. He also noticed that when that gentleman crossed the finish line, a woman was there to cheer him on and embrace him when he finished. This went on for 8-10 years.

One year though, when he crossed the finish line, he saw the woman waiting at the end, but she was always by herself. This happened on several occasions. Finally, at the conclusion of another race, he asked the woman, “ma’am, I couldn’t help but to notice—you are here at every race, yet you aren’t cheering for anyone in particular.” A tear rolled down her cheek as she expressed that her husband passed away and she couldn’t bear giving up their routine. Secretly, she hoped she could see him running again. These two strangers hugged-one widow to another.

A friendship began to emerge and race after race the woman was standing at the finish line-cheering him on this time.

I am completely enthralled in his story. I no longer remembered what mile I was on or if I stopped to re-hydrate. I leaned all in. I kept repeating, “that is amazing.”

His response, “Want to hear something more amazing than that?”

I nod.

“I’m getting married next month.” mic. drop.

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I share this because life is always unpredictable. We experience the highs and the lows and embrace the hiccups and flat out concrete barricades. But we each have a story, if we can pause, listen—we just might learn a little fun fact that bring us a bit closer.