The final selections for the 2014 Boston Marathon were concluded on Monday. My friend Terry Smith had registered as he had achieved a BQ at the 2013 Boston Marathon, his time, 3:53:23. Terry not only qualified, but he did it at Boston last year. The Boston Marathon requires a runner to qualify for the opportunity to run the race.
Terry received notification that he did not get accepted as he did not meet the minimum time. What was the minimum time, 3:53:22. Yes, that's correct, a difference of one second. ONE second! Go back and read "ONE second", that's all it takes. One click of the second hand, one blink of the eye.
I had breakfast this morning with Terry, our usual Friday ritual. I could tell he was disappointed, but Terry is not one to be deterred. He was talking about his next marathon and another BQ. I have known and run with Terry for about five years and that is his demeanor. Take a punch and keep moving forward. He probably won't like the fact that I have written this post centering on him. He is a person that situations are not about him, but others. He is always focusing on how other people are doing. He is what I call my "running Guru", he is always instructing, always encouraging. I never leave a breakfast without some piece of information I can use in my training. I'm not the only person who has become a better runner because of his expertise. For those of you who know Terry his demeanor is low-keyed and patient. I would not be where I am today without his words of encouragement and training suggestions. I hope that I can once again reach a pace where I can run with him. For now, I will meet him every Friday and get my dosage of running wisdom. To him I am very grateful. I know he will qualify and be at Boston once again. If I follow his advice I may have the opportunity to BQ and run with him in 2016. Thank you my friend.
