Thursday, September 6, 2012

IM Story #4: In Good Company

In 2010, I met my friend Jared while playing recreational quidditch (for the record, there is a difference between recreational and competitive quidditch). Jared told me his remarkable story of losing 100+ pounds over a few years and how running had helped him do it. He then told me that he ran pretty regularly with a group called Soles on Fire and said he’d ask the group leader to put my name on the weekly running list.

That group leader was Trey. I had the pleasure of going on a few of his weekend group runs that summer. I even remember Trey wishing me good luck just before my first Half Iron in Providence. Trey ran his first marathon (Trey, if you read this, correct me if anything is wrong) in Greece (coolest thing ever) that fall along with Jared’s girlfriend, Meret (whom you’ll also hear about again). Stories colliding everywhere!

In June 2011, about a week before registration opened for Ironman, I saw that Trey posted about it and asked him if he was signing up. He did, and though he moved from NYC to San Francisco later in the summer, I liked knowing someone else who was taking on the same gigantic challenge.

I was happy to see Trey at the end of the mandatory athlete briefing but even happier when he tapped me on the shoulder around mile 17 of the marathon. It was exciting to see a familiar face, and we struggled through the next few miles together.

Trey wrote his own race summary a few weeks ago and I can tell his victory here will inspire many others to push their own limits, whether through Ironman or another challenge.

Congratulations, Trey. It was an honor to race with you.

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