Tough Partner
10 Years ago I submitted this little story to Runners' World in the hopes of them publishing it in their magazine. They used to have a short story section for readers to submit their stories. It never did get published but that doesn't matter. I cherish this story. TOUGH PARTNER Thanksgiving Day is perfect when it starts with a run in my old hometown on the familiar four-mile loop. It reminds me of how simple my life was up until the age of 18, when I left home for college. I was just a kid from a small hick town with its country roads, safe neighborhoods and always a familiar face; where my mother and father started a running club with their friends during the 80's running boom. I was the youngest member of the Run-a-Mucks Club. I am forever grateful to my parents for introducing me to the sport and encouraging me along the way, as that is where I learned to love running, and came to realize that I would "run until I died". That's what I told my mother when s...