R and J in the USA

After our 5K race in Gulfport, MS, while we were walking back to the van, we passed by a man that we had both noticed on the course. We noticed him because he was doing some real running. This being our second race with Mainly Marathons, we have gotten a bit of the picture that their races are not so much about racing, but about the camaraderie of covering distance, and doing so all over the country. It’s a neat little operation and we’ve enjoyed both of our races with them. Their courses are short and consist of whatever amount of laps will make up the distance each racer is choosing to do. So, this means, all racers will pass each other multiple times. The 5Kers, 10Kers, half marathoners and full marathoners are all running the same small strip of course, back and forth and back and forth until they hit their distance. There are a lot of people on these courses that are doing it for the accomplishment of covering the distance, a laudable goal. This also means that a lot of racers are walking. So when you see someone, not just running, but running fast enough to need to bob and weave amongst the slower paces on the back and forth, its easy to take note.

As we passed him after the race while walking back to the van, Ryan called out, “Hey, great running!”

”You too!” He replied and, to match the friendly atmosphere of camaraderie at the race, he turned around and said,

”I’ll walk with you!”

That’s how we got to know Gabriel. He is an upbeat guy with a modesty about his talent and skill for running. He is fairly new to running, but his average time for his 10K was 6:10. For anyone that does not run, this is fast. It’s not the kind of fast that is going to win Olympic gold medals, but it is the kind of fast that, if this is how you are running when you are “just starting out”, you could very well find yourself in the tier just behind those running at the top of the road running game before too long. So, we were impressed. 

“Wow! You ARE fast!”

”Well,” he responded with the perspective of someone that knows running and athletics of any kind, “its all relative, right.”

And that is so the truth, especially in running. Anytime you run, you are typically not asking where your times fit into the overall scope of what is and is not considered “fast”. You are looking at where it fits in in terms of what you know you, yourself, are capable to do. Even Julie’s best races that she is most proud of, are not fast compared to what is a fairly easy time for Ryan now that he is in his running shape. But, for Julie, she is proud of them. All the work Julie has been doing to improve her times are only to get her to times that, for someone like Gabriel, wouldn’t even count as running. This is why they give out age group and gender awards. Julie has brought in a lot of awards over the course of this trip, when measured against other females in their forties. Ryan, who is usually running faster by either a little or a lot than Julie, has less age group awards than Julie, because, generally speaking, there are more males in their 50s running competitive times than females in their 40s. Gabriel was quite right. It is, indeed, all relative.

But, we were still impressed.

We had a great time chatting with Gabriel about running and his “newness” to it. He had the kind of warmth and openness that makes you feel, instantly, as though you’ve known each other for years. 

We got to and through the “where are you from’s” and when we said, “Rochester, NY”, Gabriel exclaimed, “My Dad is from there! He went to Penfield High.”

”We are from Penfield!” We exclaimed in return. 

Gabriel is from Greenville, South Carolina, a town that popped up on our radar during our South Carolina itinerary planning days. We are from Rochester, NY, where Gabriel’s dad is from originally.

And we met in Gulfport, MIssissippi.

It is a small world after all.

Gabriel went on to tell us about his warm childhood memories of cold winters at his grandparent’s house on Scribner Road in Penfield.

We found ourselves feeling nostalgic for the familiarities of our home state of New York. Being on this trip is an interesting meditation on home as an experience and how much, no matter what place you are from, just the act of growing up in a place can endear it to you in a special way that transcends any one aspect of its nature. 

But, not everyone in New York appreciates the winters. We do. So, it was nice to hear someone reminisce on the memories of the cold in upstate NY through the eyes of having experienced it as a child, when the magic in the world is a bit easier to see.

Then, Julie noticed Gabriel’s name tag.

Immediately, she snapped into Innie Mode and embodied a more submissive attitude to who was standing in front of her.

”Oh, Mr. Milchik. I am so sorry. I didn’t realize it was you. I’ll get back to work.” Julie said.

Gabriel was instantly excited and snapped into character. “I am agog at your performance.” He said, trying his best to come up with big words to express himself.

Julie and Gabriel immediately started laughing and brewing with excitement – an excitement that Ryan had no clue about.

Julie looked at Gabriel and explained Ryan’s confusion, “He doesn’t know why that is so awesome, but I do.”

Ryan was aware that he was on the outside of a mysteriously inside joke that somehow existed between Julie and, as of very recently, a complete stranger.

Eventually, Julie clued him in.

”Mr. Milchik is a character on the show Severance.”

Now Ryan fully understood the mutual enthusiasm.

Gabriel explained how, amongst his runner friends (where he is, apparently, the tortoise of the group, mentioning how most of them wouldn’t be happy with a pace anywhere above the mid-5’s) there is a group of them with a second text chain called, “The Severed Floor”. 

He said to Ryan, “All the rest of the runners get so annoyed when we all start talking about it, which is what you are about to experience.” 

Gabriel turned to Julie and for the next amount of minutes, Julie and Gabriel were deep into Severance theorizing and analysis.

Ryan recognized how happy his wife was in this moment.

”Oh, she is so happy to be able to talk with you right now.” Ryan assured as he stood in full support of the Severance nerdfest that was going down in front of him.

Marriage is a give and take. It is important, in any marriage to know that neither of you can give each other everything that the other person needs, and this is healthy. Well, Ryan has long known that he could not give Julie the Severance analysis that she has been craving. And so, he welcomed the moment of immediately becoming the temporary third wheel while Julie and Gabriel discussed the mysteries of Bert, the ways in which, perhaps, the Innies were more free than the Outies, after all, and whether Mr. Milchik would end up being a good guy, and of course, discussion of the best standing-up-to-your-boss tell-off line that has ever been uttered. For those in the know, they know exactly what line that is. When Julie and Gabriel finished devouring a chance to talk Severance post-run, Ryan found his way back intp the conversation and Gabriel asked us about the blog and we asked him for a picture and an okay to write about him as a “People Along the Way”. He concurred.

Before the conversation closed and Gabriel was off to reconvene with his wife and kids, he mentioned one more thing that struck us. 

He mentioned how he was new to running and how it was actually helping him in a lot of ways that he didn’t necessarily expect. He is a teacher at St. Josephs in Greenville and running helps him process everything he needs to process to show up and be the best teacher he can be. 

Running is, indeed, a powerful tool for getting from point A to point B in a lot of different ways.

All right, everybody, the dance party is over. Back to work. Mr. Milchik is watching.