It all started with my father making an innocent, off-hand, and probably sarcastic inquiry regarding when I was going to give him shoes in response to me giving a pair to another family member. My response to him was: pick a race, train for it, and I'll not only give you shoes, I'll run the race with you. I was thinking he'd pick a 5K or a 10K, but he dove in head-first and decided on the marathon.
I sent him shoes shortly after and guided him through marathon training. In June, I flew down for a visit and did a long(er) training run with him in the suffocating Texas heat. I also mentioned that the Keep Austin Weird 5K was that weekend and that we should go down and run it. He agreed, so we found ourselves in downtown Austin walking toward the start line. We had some extra time, so we watched the Crit (bicycle) race for a bit that was going on and then went over to the starting line to find our place among all the costumed runners. My dad and I had elected to simply dress as runners, but we were surrounded by superheros, guys in drag, soldiers in full gear, and an assortment of other "weird" costumes. None of it really phased me until I noticed a group of runners that had a chicken...on a leash.
The run started. My dad and I immediately realized how terrible of an idea it was to eat Freebirds burritos earlier in the evening. I felt like I had a cinder block resting very (un)comfortably in the pit of my stomach. Needless to say, it wasn't the fastest run, but it was a run that my dad and I did together.
Unfortunately, knee problems, and eventually surgery, ended my father's marathon career before it ever got off the ground. We weren't able to run that marathon together (otherwise, you'd definitely see it on this list), but at least we were able to run the 5K. It meant a lot to get to share a running experience with him, as running has carved out such a big portion of my life.
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