Running with Dave

"Erin, I want to run my first half marathon."  Hard to believe the past BRRC club president, previous owner of Charm City Run Events team, and 4-time marathon runner, Dave Cooley has never completed a half marathon.  But then again, half marathons weren't really en vogue when he was an avid runner.

"And I wanted to see if you would do it with me."  My dear friend and running legend Dave asked me to help get him through his first half marathon.  Of course I said yes, now it was just a matter of picking the right race and seeing what he's made of.

Initially he was going to run the Baltimore half marathon, but set backs and injuries occurred that prevented this from happening.  So Dave settled on running the back portion of the NCR marathon relay, a race he founded over 22 years ago.

Dave trained for several months and I joined in whatever training runs I could to keep him on pace and to distract him from the discomfort the body goes through when its forced to do something it naturally does not want to do.  We would meet up afterwards and discuss strategy and race day prep and I would give him training tips.

Race day was right around the corner and with all the set backs Dave, 79 had encountered he only managed to log in a 9 miler.  I was a little concerned about this.  One, because of his age and two, because that's 4 more miles of unknown.  But his resolve forced me to believe that he could and would finish this race.  I predicted our finishing time to be somewhere under four hours.

I had just run the Philly marathon the weekend before and was still feeling the effects of it.  I re-damaged my foot and hoped that staying off of it for the entire week would somehow help me on Dave's big day.

I arrived at Sparks elementary right on time--8 am.  I saw several friendly faces and chatted with them for  a bit, but I knew I needed to cut it short so that Dave would know I was there and relieve some of his race day anxiety.  I found him and gave him a big hug, smiled at him and said, 'You so got this' (my signature mantra for any hard race I do).  Still playing race director, Dave had several duties to take care of before his personal race agenda could be conquered.

Promptly at 9 am, the race kicked off and Josh-owner of Charm City Run, Dave's mentee, friend, and first leg of the relay--took off.  Dave came back to me and we boarded the bus to the exchange point just south of Bentley Springs.

Weather-wise, we couldn't ask for a better day. There was a definite chill in the air, but the sun was shining and the trail had favorable conditions.  We walked the quarter mile to the exchange point.  We projected Josh would be coming in around 10:40, so when he arrived earlier than expected we both had to put our game faces on and go.

Josh gave Dave a hug and wished him luck.  I removed the chip from Josh's ankle and strapped it on Dave's.  We were off!

First we had to head north to the turn around and then head back down the trail.  We passed many of our adoring fans. Shouts of encouragement and sarcasm flew our way.  It was time for Dave to receive the positive banter of the spectators instead of merely being one on the sidelines.

Dave was strong for most of the race.  He pushed for three minutes then recovered for three and so on for up to 9 miles.  I fed and watered him.  I played receptionist while he focused on his performance.  I tried to ease his worried wife's mind by only telling her encouraging things about Dave's progress.

Even though we were going at an easy pace for me, it was still a lot of time for me to be on my feet right after completing my own marathon.  I was still on the mend from a nasty cold and my chronic foot issue was giving me trouble.  On top of that I received a message from my father that my grandmother wasn't going to make it and I should be prepared to say goodbye to her.  All in all, I had several things working against me.  But this day was about Dave and seeing his goal through.  Everything else would have to wait.

As we neared the end of the trail Josh came trotting up towards us.  He was checking on Dave and asking if he needed anything.  He and I focused on his work.  Dave's support team grew when his daughter, Terry joined the group.  All four of us cheered and encouraged as Dave's energy was quickly fading.  We climbed York road to where Audrey, Dave's wife was waiting at the top.  I told Dave that he should run past everyone and make them proud.  Somehow he found the energy to push past the pain and bring himself back to a jog.

The last stretch was along Belfast road.  A winding road with cars flying at you!  I did my best to stay in front of Dave to flag down cars and draw attention to the incoming runners.  Finally parked cars could be seen lining either side of the road-a sign that we were near the finish line.  I instructed Dave to give it one last push into the finish.  All four of us, Terry, Josh, Dave and I ran in to hear many cheers and congrats from all the people who have known Dave to be on the other end of the process.  He was once again just another dumb runner collapsing at the finish line.

Dave leaned on Josh and me and we received our medals, posed for pictures, and wrapped up in our space blankets.  Dave finished right around 3:20.

I kept hearing 'thank yous' from friends and supporters.  People were saying what a nice thing I did and how impressed they were that I did that.  To me, it was a no-brainer.  This is Dave Cooley, someone I have looked up to since I ran my first 5K.  He has been an invaluable friend who would do anything for me.  I can't think of a more deserving person and I am honored to be the one he chose to pull him through 13.1 miles.  He was the rock star that day and I, just the back up band.   Like a real star, he deserves all the credit.  I'm just glad I got to be a part of the party.