Running Partner
Anyone who runs knows it is usually easier with a partner. It gives you someone to talk to, someone to be miserable with, and even someone to playfully compete against
Over the course of my running career, I have had a good handful of running partners and all of them have had one thing in common. I admired something about that person.
The first running partner I had is now my roommate. I can honestly say that I looked up to him. He was fast (probably still is) and always gave it his all. Every run ended with us in a dead sprint to the track to see who would win. It didn’t matter who won, and we both knew he was faster, but it pushed us to give it our all. For our cross country class we had to keep weekly logs of our runs, and put a goal in it for us to achieve. Though he probably doesn’t know it, my goal for many months was simply “run with Jason”. I cannot express how proud I was when I finally achieved that goal. Unfortunetly he has not continued running in college and I have to really push him to even go to the gym twice a week (though I go almost every night). It saddens me that he lost that drive and determination, everything that I looked up to him for.
Another running partner I had was one of my best friends. He is pretty much a brother to me and though we only ran a few times he always gave it his all. I looked up to him about everything in life. There was nothing he couldn’t do. We had a lot of good times together and will be friends for the rest of our lives most likely.
Now that I am in college I have found some new friends that enjoy running, or want to give it a shot. One is pretty much a genius. 17 years old and a pure mathematics major. He enjoys teaching, and is just plain old smart. Though he only attends 58% of his lectures, I could never touch his GPA. I admire that about him, he is able to teach himself nearly anything it would seem, and even shares that knowledge with me. He runs with me on occasion, and runs solo on days we can’t run together. He makes a lot of excuses for himself, “sorry I’m not very good at this”; “sorry if my music is too loud”; “sorry if I am not very talkative, I usually run with my headphones in”. He is a great conversationalist and really helps the time fly by when we run, there is laughter and serious discussion. He makes me feel like I’m back in high school running with the xc team again and I love it.
My other friend has just started running, and I hate to say it but he is off to a rough start. He really wants to get into it and keep going but keeps injuring his back. Our longest run consists of about 15min and we don’t talk much though I try to keep some conversation going. What I admire about him is the fact that he is trying. He hasn’t ran in a long time but wants it to become a routine. He let me make him a running plan, though I had never done it before, and really gives it his all. He doesn’t hold back because it hurts, he doesn’t stop when he feels like he is going to puke, and he most definitely doesn’t stop when it gets hard. There is something to be said for someone like that. Though I would love to take credit for his wanting to run, I cannot. That falls to the shoulders of my current running partner and her awesome tumblr.
My current running partner, and she has held the spot for the past two years (at least) would be my girlfriend Rebecca. Out of every running partner i have had she takes the number one spot. Whether it is a simple 3mile out and back, a daunting 20miler, or a grueling workout, she is there. She may not be there willingly, but she is there. Our first real training season together started in July/August when we decided to run a half-marathon. It was her idea, and of course there was complaining, exclamations of “I can’t do it!” or “I quit!”. She never did, and killed that half marathon with a time of 1:52, (her goal was 2 hours). Now we are 7 weeks away from our first full marathon. It has been hard, and I know she has had it bad. For almost 2 months now her knee has been a source of constant pain and injury for her. It limits her at times and she loses the drive to run on her own some days because of it. But I admire her the most out of everyone I have ever ran with. Not because she doesn’t stop, she does. Not because she doesn’t complain, she does. It is because she wants to get it done. Her goal has been 20 miles for a few weeks now and was never able to do it due to her knee. Today that changed. Nearly in tears, and her joints screaming for her to stop she pressed on. Mile fifteen came with the end of a giant hill and much pain. That didn’t stop her. She pushed until she had gotten to 17 miles and then said something that made me smile. ”The run will just finish itself.” She and finally gotten to the point where she knew no matter what she would finish. These past few weeks have been tough for her, and therefore me. I know deep down that if she wasn’t out there I wouldn’t be either. She is the one person that gets me up early to go running and makes me enjoy it. We don’t have to run together, but knowing she is running to keeps me going. Hands down she is the best running partner I have ever had.
