The Side Effects of Endorphins

Youth

Many years ago, I was on a road trip from Williamsburg, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. My buddy and I were there to run the Peachtree road race on July 4th. It’s a sweaty steamy run and a big party afterwards.

The Starting Line

I got to the starting line of the running race and I realized I didn’t pack my running shoes. 30 minutes before a race is not a good time to find this out.

I spotted a guy sitting on a curb, trying on a new pair of running shoes. He seemed happy and ready to go run the race.

I told him my story and asked if I could borrow his old shoes when and he said “why not”. They were two sizes large, but it was better than not wearing shoes.

The Race

I did perfectly fine. It’s not the type of event where you achieve your personal best. I ran the race in 40 minutes and never thought about the shoes. I tried returning the shoes but finding one person in 30,000 is not easy.

The Demise

We drove back to Williamsburg the very same day. We had car problems and sputtered back into town. We took the car back into the shop the next day to get it fixed. At the car repair shop they accidentally dropped a dumpster on the Volkswagen beetle. The car was demolished. We did get a new car out of the deal.

But those ill fitting shoes were in the backseat of the car. I hardly knew you.