My Cast of Characters

Like any great leader throughout the history of time, my running life is replete with the quirky, the villainous, the affable, the canine and more. It is this cast of characters who have helped create, shape and expand my running life. I would be remiss if I did not list each of them (note: this list will be ever expanding and will be updated as appropriate) so as to help you, the reader, to better understand my stories and to provide a general framework for you, too, to establish your own list of running characters.

Bone: Being the subject of one of my hilarious posts before being admitted to this merry band of runners, Bone's reputation certainly (and literally) has preceded his entrance to Runners Write. While our lives have forever been intertwined (i.e. born in adjacent hospital beds, summer camps together and same high school and college), it was only recently that Bone and I began to run together. Now, at 3-4 times a week and 3 NYRR races later, our time spent running has provided us a means to gab, laugh and sweat together while, at the same time, not having him peer pressure me to drink liquor drinks.

Buddy: More a symbol than an actual person (though in my case, I do in fact have such a person as a friend), Buddy is that all too familiar friend we each have who is continually making empty promises about beginning to exercise. Running to the local pizzeria rather than on a treadmill and preferring spinning around the salad bar to spinning classes, Buddy lacks the motivation to do all things healthy and active. Standing proud, he will begin to tell his/her friends, "I am doing this extreme diet I read about beginning in...." but his last words are cut short as his doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of McDonalds.

CVSW: My dopeness wife and my most consistent fan during my races, CVSW is still in the nascent stages of her running career (if ever a running career shall so develop). Because of my fondness, bordering on obsession, with running, CVSW is continually trying to remind me of the long term ramifications of over running or, in the alternative, yelling at me for all my time spent running and thus not spent with her. Instead of conceding the point that I do in fact run too much and promising to devote more time to my domestic duties, I have been trying to convert CVSW into an obsessive runner herself!!! Besides the 2007 Queen’s half-marathon, however, to date, my efforts have proved fruitless. No matter the fights, though, CVSW remains my number 1, with running and Philly (the canine not the city of brotherly love and home to the original delicious cheese steaks) following in second and third!

The Gull: A current co-contributor to Running Down a Dream, a running blog authored by the infamous The Kid (see below for details)and my right-hand man for more of my running career than any other (literally, I actually strongly prefer running on a person’s left), The Gull has been next to me (in the end, more like 10-45 minutes ahead of me) for my first half and full NYC marathon. Preferring treadmills to the outdoors and early morning runs to evening runs, The Gull has emerged as my perfect running complement both ideologically and actually. Despite losing to The Kid in the race to be my best man, The Gull remains a running enthusiast and my running buddy…. when I can keep up!

T,h,e K,i,d: Founder of Running Down a Dream (RDAD), hater of my usage of the comma and also my younger broder, The Kid began his running career as my protégée and quickly established himself as one of the running world’s wittiest and most sarcastic participants. Completing 3 marathons within his first 3 years of serious running, The Kid swiftly began outpacing his mentor and has now set his sights on Uncle. The Kid continues to write about his running experiences on RDAD and the bond between mentor and protégée continues to get stronger with each mile run.

Philly: Taking his name from the city of brotherly love, Philly’s total body weight of 14 pounds provides him with an aerodynamic body that all runners strive for. Without a doubt, the only thing stopping Philly from tearing up all the competition and ascending to the top of the running world is the stupid rule that forbids canines from entering into running competitions. Nevertheless the form, speed and grace Philly exhibits while playing fetch certainly demonstrates that, while he may look like a dog, he truly is a runner at heart. Having just turned 2 years old, Philly continues to await the day when the rules of competition will finally allow him a chance to run with the big dawgs!

Uncle: As his name implies, Uncle is actually my uncle. Through a series of family movings and shakings, my mother’s brother is The Kid’s age, and somehow has inherited the ability to run madness fast. Over the (running) course of his adolescence and while his nephews were growing up right before his eyes, 14-year old Uncle used more curse words than the word “the” in everyday speech and was rather portly to-boot. Through hard work, his 40-pound weighted vest and the plank exercise, however, Uncle now has a crazy six-pack, an incredibly witty and creative personality and the uncanny ability to consistently run 6 minutin/miles for a sustained amount of time. Completing his first NYC Marathon this past November in the awesome time of 3:06, Uncle has obviously set his sights to bigger, better and, unfortunately, much faster than The Gull, The Kid or myself.