Labor Day has passed; grad school commences tomorrow; the Akron race is only a couple weeks away, and the MCM just a month and some farther.  Hello, crunch time.

How fortunate was I to be able to scamper away to my sister’s in NE Ohio for the extended weekend to get in some quality R-and-R with her and her husband and kids, including the newest 7-week-old addition.  My parents were across the country, visiting my bro in Houston for the holiday weekend; C decided to stay behind in Chicago; and in the absence of my husband and my parents, the weekend amounted to great sisterly time.  Nestled amongst this great family time was a fantastic 20-miler of the Akron course with the Vertical Runner training group, a meet-up with a friend from  home (that involved my b-i-l’s car dying), and several cook-outs with my sister’s extended family.

The concept of “family” is laden with all sorts of socio-cultural implications and expectations, with the actual definition likely necessitating a full-blown dissertation, but I’d venture to say that runners know full well that “family” isn’t just restricted to siblings, cousins, aunts, and the like.  We runners will (probably) readily admit to having a “running family” of our own.  It makes sense; I don’t know about you, but I’ve had many a long run with many a running buddy in the past few years, and what better way to pass the miles than share stories, talk about our aspirations and hopes, and the like… much as I would to a “real” family member.  My running family has been comprised of folks from a mélange of ages, careers, etc., and for many of us, the only real thing that connects us is our love of running:  just like the only thing that connects us to people so wildly different from us, our “real” relatives, is our blood!

One of the best benefits I’ve reaped from running is my running family.  Rock on, running family … rock on.