Pancakes and Memories

Today was "Pancake Run" with my high school guys. Every few Saturday's we gather in the morning for a long run and then have pancakes afterwards. Have you seen how much a skinny little 17 year old runner kid can eat? Good thing Bisquick is cheap. Anyway, once these ravenous greyhounds sit down at our dining room table it is only quiet for about 5 minutes as the pancakes are devoured and then the stories and laughter starts. If I let them, they would sit there all day, just talking and laughing. Most of the time I stand just to the side of the table, coffee in hand, and just observe. More often than not, they take me back in time to when I was sitting around the table with my teammates, laughing at the events of the week.

Sunday was my favorite day of the week when I was running in college. Every Sunday we would meet at Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa, CA to go for our weekly 12-15 mile long run. It didn't matter if we were putting in base mileage, recovering from a race the day before, rain, sun, sleet, hungover from Saturday night, whatever, we were in the parking lot at 9:00am ready to go. It was only quiet for about 5 minutes as we woke our sleepy bodies and then the stories would start flowing and we were off laughing, joking and flying along hill and dale at 6:00min pace. It's amazing how fast the time flies on a 12 mile run when you are laughing nearly the whole way. The best part though was the immediate trip to the Jelly Donut for coffee and you guessed it, DONUTS. What, were you expecting Jamba Juice with Bran Muffins and an energy boost? We just flew along a hilly 12 mile run and needed real sustenance. What a sight we must have been? Emaciated looking man-boys in little shorts, sweaty, and eating enough donuts to make the Biggest Loser drool for a week.

John L. Parker in his book, Once a Runner, talks about how when runners get older they often long to return to that brotherhood and bond that is shared between college teammates when they are older. He was right. It is a magical time that only happens once in a runner's life and nothing we do can ever emulate it. It was a glorious time. As I stand around my dining room table on Saturdays, coffee in hand, I hope my guys know that I am doing more than just feeding them pancakes, I am providing them an experience that hopefully, will be one of the best times in their lives.

By the way, thanks Phil, Stone, Stu, Chip, Aldge, Carlos, and all my other SSU teammates for such great memories. I still think of you guys when I am eating donuts on Sunday mornings.

Until the next time, keep running and stay healthy,
SP

ps. Have a donut and remember those who have made this sport so fun for you.