The older I get, the more I realize I had the reward backwards.

Three words from a 1962 film. Still the best running advice I've heard.

He looked at me like I was crazy. I get it now.

Last week, I finished my training cycle and my marathon. I ran it with a long-time friend, and it was one of those days you’re grateful for. Weeks of work, long runs—all of it leading...

Fourteen marathons. Every single one of them alone. Not alone in the sense that the roads were empty — marathons are crowded, loud, and chaotic in ways that still surprise me. But alone in the sense that I never knew the person running next to me.

This past weekend, that changed.

A longtime friend and I signed up for a race I'd always wanted to run. We trained separately, flew in, met up, and toed the line together. I was nervous — not about the race, but about him. What if his running style drove me crazy three hours in? What if my nose dripping every half mile drove him crazy?

Here's what happened instead.

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