Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Hero Update and More





You might remember one of my hero stories from earlier in the year. Brian pictured above in the back is training for the Chicago Marathon. His goal is a sub 3:11 marathon which would qualify him for the Boston Marathon. Reaching his goal would also knock off another goal of shedding some pounds (75 to be exact).

Based on the results from a recent 8K in San Diego, he's well on his way!
34 min 31 sec for the 8k today
6:57 pace

I think Brian would tell you, that you don't do this alone. In fact no athlete especially one training for a Marathon or a 5 hour triathlon does it alone. They do it with the love and support of others. I think the two other people in the picture will be of great help to Brian as he continues towards his goal. The beautiful young woman inbetween the two guys is Brian's girlfriend Sheri. I've never met Sheri but I feel I can make at least one comment. She's a special person. Brian is a special guy and I can't imagine him with anyone that wasn't as special as he is, so that's how I come to the conclusion.

The other guy in the picture deserves a blog posting all to himself. Talk about a hero. Charlie G. is the man. He grew up in the Boston area and is a true Red Sox fan. If you see him with the hat on it's because he bought it when they couldn't get to the playoffs. I don't know a great deal about Charlie besides these facts:

1. He can sell. The guy makes you feel so comfortable with your decisions that you want to take him home to dinner with you.

2. I learned about his selling ability at Road Runner Sports where he always ranked at the top no matter what the criteria.

3. The other thing that comes from Boston is Running. Running and the Boston Marathon are a big part of that community and Charlie grew up there. So he has a love for running.

4. A few years ago as I remember it, Charlie went to the doctor because he hurt his leg in a game. He went in thinking he had a bad injury and came out knowing he had cancer in his leg. He's a young guy and young guys aren't suppost to get cancer. During all of his treatment in the Boston area, Charlie sent us emails. They were some of the most uplifting heart felt emails I've ever read. Charlie turned his time into a positive experience for all of us.

I tell you this about Charlie because I know he's a big reason why Brian is running today. Like I said, nobody does this stuff alone and I know Charlie is there every day to remind Brian what a gift he has.

It's a good life.....

Dave

No comments: