The Kiss

Dad has been my running idol for years. He was running before it was reasonable to be a runner. I remember once he told me, while he was jogging in the late 60's, a cop pulled over and asked him if he was running away from someone, his reply was standard yet firm, "No!". Dad had started running on the advice of his doctor, as a way to combat high blood pressure and help strengthen his heart and lungs.

A few weeks ago, I once again ran with him. He believes this to be a way of life to him and those around him. He never asked anyone to tag along, yet never rejected the offer of someone though. My father is the one who motivated me to start running as a young teen.

I still remember the first race we ever ran together. It was the first race I ever ran. It was a October 6th race in Naples, FL, called the Monster Dash 5K. It was the only race he ever beat me legitimately in. I was new to running and he was already a seasoned veteran. I remember hitting the first mile right on 8 minutes. I had never run a mile that fast in my life. Dad was still in sight then, but slowly pulled away and beat me by over a minute. I ran 25 something.

I improved quickly and was running sub 21 by the end of the year, but always jumped at the chance to run with Dad. I was more of the racer, and he was more the recreational runner. Whenever we raced together, I would pace him.

In the past years we've run many races together from short to extremely long. Yes, he has slowed through the years, but, after all, he is now 69 years old. We have always used our running time to communicate with each other. When we're just sitting around, the random talk can be sometimes awkward. But side by side, running together, we understand each other.

We used to talk a lot on our runs, but he doesn't hear as well as he used to due to the war, so that day we just ran. The rains were still falling as we left the house, but quickly stopped within