Runnin' buddies

Amazing how much better a long run becomes when it is shared with others. Here is our group, (minus Michael), prior to last weekend's 14 miler. I'm on the left, then there is Mario, Oscar and Bisi. We are all part of the 8:30 communte group, and seem to have one of the smallest groups of the team. No matter. We ran together, chatted a bit, helped pull and prod each other up the hills, and pushed together to finish the final 4 miles downhill.

I doubt I would have run this 14 mile course without the support of others. I seem to be able to push myself more with one or more running friends. In preparation for a marathon, the key seems to be the long training runs. Get in enough of these and the marathon will be completed without too much discomfort. Skip the long training runs, and the marathon becomes harder with each step past 16 or 18 miles or wherever you "hit the wall".

So here is a special thanks to all my running friends now, from the past, and those yet to come. Thanks for the companionship, and sharing some good runs together. And thank you to Team for Kids for providing the opportunity to train with a like-minded group! I am enjoying the training more than ever!

One of my college running buddies now lives in Alaska, and has recently completed his second 50 mile race. He and I ran Grandma's marathon together, as well as the Detroit International marathon (it starts in Windsor Canada and you run one mile under water!) . He sent me the photo below where he is "doing his water running" in Salmon, Alaska.
Some people really know how to train! Kudos Alex!