Looking Ahead

This is the last time I will be at a workout with Suzie #fornow.  Suzie has been in Baltimore for about two-and-one-half years.  I've known her through Back on My Feet and a friendship and mentorship that grew around running for about two of those.  We've been "Thursday running partners" (most, but not every Thursday) for about 19 months of that total.  She's about to hike the Appalachian Trail and then move back to the midwest closer to her family and where she grew up.  But I want to comment on how knowing her has been a blessing to me and why  hope to keep in touch with her.

The shirt I have on in this photo is a great  summary with its hashtag #NoOneRunsAlone.  There were several reasons that our running grew beyond just the Back on My Feet workouts.  One was her preparation for her first marathon in 2017.  I ran by her side all 26.2 miles and waited with other Back on My Feet volunteers for her to come out of the medic tent after the race was over.

Her marathon running has progressed immensely since that first one.  She qualified for Boston and two days ago she ran Boston.  I followed her splits that were solid in the beginning but slowed.  When I sent her a congratulatory text afterward, she noted that the end was a little slower than it needed to be as she had run into a college teammate who was struggling even more than she was.  She took what I had done for her and paid it forward making sure #NoOneRunsAlone.  She could not have made me prouder than she did by paying it forward.  

What she did for a fellow runner is what I hope everyone with whom I am in a mentoring relationship does--takes the lessons I have shared and carries them forward.  I know I try to do that on behalf of my mentors.  I learned long ago that I cannot pay them back. But I can pay it forward.  Just yesterday, the school of public health at which I began my career recognized a faculty member who spent 35 years there and 14 more interacting with the faculty there.  I noted how much of a mentor he'd been to me when I was junior faculty.  I can only hope I have paid it forward.

A person also realizes how much a running partnership and mentoring has become a friendship that impacts his life when the following happens.  Suzie brought her parents for her last Back on My Feet workout. When her mother was going around the circle meeting people, she heard my name and said, "You're the one who has helped Suzie with her running."  I'm not sure how much credit I deserve--Suzie can do quite well on her own--but it does point out just how deep running friendships can be and how much others know about them friendship and impact.

I want to thank Suzie for joining me on my journey and letting me be part of hers.  She has been a part of my "Baltimore family," and while neither knows how long it will be will we can be in the same photo again, I look forward to continuing to watch her journey and to lend a hand on her way if she ever needs it.