The other day I ran 16.7 miles. Right, so what?
It’s not the 16.7 miles that has me writing this post. It is what the run meant, to me anyway.
I have a friend Mike. I have known him since our college days. I owe him. He took me in after I graduated from college. At the time I had no idea what I was doing with myself. He was attending his sophomore summer and had a room in our fraternity all to himself. Or so he thought. When I arrived at his door a few weeks into the term, he very happily put me up on his couch for the rest of the summer. I stayed, rent free, for nearly two months. He never complained – not once. Over that summer, Mike became one of my dearest friends.
Years later, unbeknownst to me, Mike came dangerously close to losing a battle with a liver condition. With the help of a team of doctors here in Boston, he fought back, got healthy and is now looking to pay it forward by running with the American Liver Foundation’s Run For Research Team in this year’s Boston Marathon. This will be his first marathon.
What does this have to do with me? What does this have to with 16.7 miles?
The Boston Marathon has been a dream of mine for a little over a year now. The idea of running the same race the Kelly’s, Katherine Switzer, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit, and Alberto Salazar all ran is something that I find absolutely exhilarating, but as many of you know, one cannot just sign up for Boston. One must either run for a charity team like my good friend Mike or qualify for the race by running another marathon within a certain amount of time. I have nothing against charities. In fact, as a family we have worked very hard to raise funds for both big (Autism Speaks, St. Jude’s) and little (the Autism Alliance of Metrowest, Playground funds, Pre-School Programs) organizations. But very early on, I decided that I wanted to run Boston because I had qualified. It will require my running a 3:20:59 or better marathon. I am not there yet, but I hope to within the next year or two. I digress.
Mike has chosen a different, and in some ways more admirable and selfless path. His desire to run Boston has put him in a position to help those who helped him.
Mike signed up to run and has been fairly successful in raising funds for his team. However, he was having some difficulty with the long runs. When he first started his training, he very happily drove down to where the team was meeting every Saturday with the hopes of spending the next 2 hours or so chatting with other runners. What he found though is that many of them would plug-in their ear buds and zone out for the bulk of the run. I can relate to that. I do it quite frequently when I am running my long runs…alone. Having limited experience at running for long distances, Mike feared that he would struggle to stay focused on his own. He doesn’t run with music so I can totally understand why he would be think that.
So when he emailed me a week or so ago and asked if I wanted to join him for a scheduled 14.5 miler, I said I was game. I hadn’t run more than 13.1 since November, but “what the heck”, it would be nice to get a truly long run in. We had a great time chatting for two and a half hours. We even went an extra couple of miles, finishing the day at 16.7. It was the most pleasant long run I have had to date. No hurries, just running with a friend, chatting pretty much non-stop for the entire run.
At the end of the run (it was both the longest time – 2:35:00 – and distance he had ever covered) he looked at me and thanked me, saying that he didn’t think he would have made it to the end without the company. I frowned. It may have been more of a struggle had he been on his own, but I told him he would have finished just fine. He thanked me nonetheless.
My point is this: we may not have the time nor the inclination to dedicate ourselves full-time towards a particular charity or what have you, but during these unsure times, the very least we can do is help those who are helping others. Did I accomplish a huge feat in running those 16.7 miles? Did I “make the difference” in how Mike has raised money for the liver team? No, absolutely not. My contribution to his run was three hours out of my weekend.
A drop in the bucket.
But drop by drop, the rain fills the bucket.
You can find Mike here.
Run Luau Run 
GREAT post. It makes you think about how the simplest things can mean so much to someone. I know I get caught up in life so often. It’s nice to slow down and do something nice for someone, even if it’s not a big deal for you.
Thanks Dennis! The great part was that I enjoyed the run immensely. It was a win-win.
Great post. This is a true reflection of how important it is to be supportive, not only financially, but physically. As a fundraiser myself (Team in Training/Leukemia Lymphoma Society), I know how difficult it can be to raise the required minimum funds – however the reason I keep coming back to TNT is for the camaraderie and the impact I’m having on those who are affected not only by the cancer, but by the training itself.
So glad you got to share those pivotal 16.7 miles with your friend – he won’t forget it, and neither will you!
Wow. Must be nice to have that kind of time to train. Some of us actually have to work otherwise we too would like to run and raise money. Can’t even imagine my husband just sitting around at home and running.
I hear ya…actually though I try to do my weekday running at either 4:30 in the morning or at 9:30 at night…too much to do during the regular part of the day…
As for fundraising, a lot of that can be done online. Also, I believe that Mike’s “team” meets at night during the week and then in the mornings on Saturdays.
As I said though, what I did for Mike was merely a drop in the bucket. The original title of this post was “helping friends helping others”. The truth is, right now, I don’t have the time to dedicate myself to a team/charity, so I do what I feel I can right now. Last week I was fortunate enough to have three hours that I could give him to help “carry” him through his run.
I also know that there are people who simply do not have the time, period, to do any of it. Sometimes it’s by design, sometimes it is not. I would never knock them for it.
One Time Runner, you are an ass. Actually, I don’t know you so maybe you’re not an ass, but your comment demonstrates your ignorance, is short sighted and laced with bitterness. To assume that anyone who runs and trains for endurance events has “that kind of time” and doesn’t “have to work” is completely asinine. I have a full time job (50 to 65 hrs/week), a wife and three kids. I have trained and am training for marathon length endurance events. Like Luau, I often wake at 4:25am to get my in training or late at night when everyone else is asleep. I don’t HAVE the time either I MAKE the time. I was fat and unhealthy for most of my life. I always thought “I don’t have the time.” I was wrong, I didn’t make the time. We make the time because we want to, because it is important, because we need to do this.
Furthermore, there is nothing more noble than raising money for one of these wonderful charities. Do you realize when you sign up to do this that the organization takes you credit card? If you fail to raise the required $3750, they charge YOUR account. That is putting yourself out. Putting your dollars on the line. This is an unselfish act an attempt to better someone else’s life. If we had more Mike’s in this world and fewer “One Time Runner”s, this world would be a better place.
Great post Luau. As always it is inspiring.
Fantastic post. I ran for charity last year…and I could NEVER have done it without people like you.
Beautiful post. Those little drops add up, don’t they? 🙂 I bet this time next year, you’ll be in the final stages of training for Boston…
Keep on running … and keep on blogging!
I liked your post as always. I DON’T think that being a stay at home dad is “just sitting around” like One Time Runner said. Taking care of the home and kids is a hard job! Actually something that we women have been fighting for years to get men to understand!
I think you rock Luau, so keep on blogging and running! 🙂
Love this post, Luau. It’s very meaningful and a great reminder for us all to think about the bigger picture. Your friend should be so very proud of all that he’s achieved already… and every little step forward does make a huge difference in the long run. Pun intended. 🙂
very nice description…it’s one thing that pops up over and over in stories i read about running: it’s an individual sport, yet very much a community. people really draw energy and motivation from one another, push one another to bigger things. this was a perfect example. quite nice.
Thanks M.
It’s good to see you back!