My teammate, for richer or poorer
May 30, 2009I think Liz thinks of me as a trophy husband.
Not someone whose main attributes are youthfulness and attractiveness — although I am younger than she — but rather someone who can help her win trophies. While neither of us is a national-class runner at sub-ultramarathon distances, we usually place well in local two-person events.
As with the relationship itself, it took her a while to decide that I was a suitable racing partner. Although we met through a running club (Club Northwest), she subsequently entered team races with her friend Sally (for running-only events), Sally’s husband Alec (for “Muddy Buddy” ride-and-run events), or MerGeo.com (for adventure racing). It wasn’t until 2004 — six years after we met — that we joined forces in a competitive context.
Our debut as a running duo came at the 2004 Bridle Trails Winter Trail Running Festival. For some reason, the tiny field for the 50K pairs relay was ridiculously competitive that year, and we wound up 4th among the six teams. More recently, though, we won the “Douple Dip” division of the 2008 Resolution Run and were the runner-up mixed-gender team at the same event this year.
Which brings us to the Great Kilted Run tomorrow at Magnuson Park. It wasn’t a race that I had planned to do, but there’s a team division, and Liz has that gleam in her eye…. So I guess it’s time to do a bit of skirt-chasing for the sake of marital harmony.
Nice pun, final sentence.