You get to meet some pretty neat people running. I have made a few friends through running. Runners that I think will stick with me running or not. And I have met some people that I wish I could call my friends.
A couple years ago, Esther put together a quick run for the runners at the Runners Den. The purpose of the race was to raise money for a young triathelete whose mother Esther knew well. The young man, we all found out was on the short list to represent Canada at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
I ran the race on a cold wintry night. And ran in a PB of 31 minutes. But what made the night special was meeting that young man, Colin Jenkins. He ran the race with us that cold night. And finished the 5 km race in about 15 minutes.
He greeted each runner as they crossed the finish line. He made everyone of us feel like we had just run an Olympic race ourselves.
I tried to keep track of his Olympic efforts and was pretty proud when I heard he had actually made the Olympic team and was going to represent Canada in the triathlon.
I watched him when he made sure that Simon Whitfield made it to the Olympic podium. And shed a tear or two at that moment.
But that moment paled in comparison to running in the Road2Hope last year. The Gazelle and I both signed up to do the 5 km race. Esther promised that the Marathon weekend would be one to remember and she delivered.
On the day of our race, the Gazelle and I seeded ourselves accordingly. He in the front and me in the back. My parents also walked in the race that day. But just before the gun went off, Gord announced that Colin Jenkins would be handing out finishing medals to the finishers.
I ran my race and had a good run. But when I crossed the finish line, I looked for Colin. I wanted the finishing medal from him and found him.
“Congratulations. You did great,” he said to me.
“Thanks, but you deserve the congratulations,” I said to him. He looked at me in surprise.
“You represented Canada wonderfully at the Olympics. I was so proud. The next time, there will be a medal for you,” I said to him.
And both he and I believed it.
Our Magazine
