I Almost Quit Saturday

I am not a fast distance runner. I compete with few people except me. But the Lexington Race Against Hunger Saturday was a new challenge. I wondered, as my son-in-law David and I drove through hard rain on Saturday, Do they postpone races due to rain? Do the laws of baseball take effect? Unsafe playing surface, terrible playing conditions, bad for the fans . . . yada, yada, yada.

The runners ran in driving rain, 6.2 miles, up and down wet hills. The man in me could not walk away (because David drove). This was my first race since October. I was not in great shape.

The first 3 miles were labored but okay. Then, it happened, the 1000 lb. guerrilla jumped on my back. He has jumped me before, don't get me wrong. All 1000 lbs. hitched a ride this time. I wanted to walk so badly. Maybe not quit but walk. The muscles in my legs screamed for mercy.

Now, in honor of the late Paul Harvey, the rest of the story. David, would normally beat me by a mile in a competitive 10K. Literally, a mile . . . between 9 -10 minutes. In running, that is a long way. David, for some unknown reason came back and met me at the 3 mile mark. He escorted me, running along side, to the finish line. We ran identical crummy times. We laughed, I yelled at him, he waved me forward, I struggled.

Remember, I almost quit, but did not. Why? Because someone came back. I would not have noticed if he didn't. He could have run the race for himself. He probably should have. He would have been out of the rain 10 minutes earlier. He could have (as he often does) placed in his age bracket. He gave it up. I am not sure why, but I am glad he did. Because he did, he multiplied his effort.

Slow down for someone else today. Your bottom line results will be increased most likely. In the Saturday's race, David's results literally doubled. Many have done this for me over the years. I hope I have returned the favor, but could not possibly have done it as much. I run too many races for myself.