Maggie's Corner: sports & Reunions

Sports & Reunions:

It was a cold, late October morning and I was sitting by myself on the Staten Island ferry, in NYC, being transported to Staten Island, where the marathon would start. The NYC marathon is an iconic race, filled with 50,000 running. I had heard through the grapevine that a high school class mate of mine would be at the race too. I was able to reach him through FB, told him the time I was going to be taking the ferry and what color hat I was going to wear ("bright lime green!!!"). What I didn't realize, is that there were several hundread of people of that ferry. I hadn't seen Alexandre for 20 years; since we graduated, Chances were slim. As I walked out, I felt a hand taping my shoulder. I recognized him immediately; he hadn't change a bit!!! It was such a treat to be able to reconnect with an old friend, thanks to NYC marathon! It was such a joy to catch up with him, reconnect. I even meet his nice friend, a gal that I befriended right away who was also racing. We were able to toe the line together and even managed to run together for the first 6 miles or so. I even saw the two of them again this summer at IM Mont Tremblant.

I always thought that triathlon and running events were such selfish sports. You train alone for countless of hours and you race alone. You spend time away from families and friends, going to bed way too early but also waking up way too early. But this enounter with an old friend made me think otherwise. Because we both had a passion for running, an event brought us together, 20 years after we last saw each other, and 1500 miles away from home.

A couple of weeks ago, I raced IM Mont Tremblant, a mere 3 hours away from my home town. I was fortunate enough to have qualified for Kona. Another high school classmate of mine also qualified for Kona...as far as I know, he is one of half dozen to have qualify in the province of Quebec in the history of Kona. We have gotten in touch and we also plan on meeting on the Big Island. I also haven't seen him in 20 years...I bet he hasn't change (and I hope he says the same about me!).

Stay healthy,
Maggie