I ran with a runner last night I only know as Marita's Uncle during the Tuesday Night group run. I never caught his name but I have heard of his running past from his niece Marita. He has won the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon on a couple occasions and I was eager to chat with him about running.

The pace was generally in the 6:50 to 7:05 range and it felt very comfortable. I found out that Marita's Uncle once ran a 2:21 marathon in an attempt to qualify for the 1980 Olympic trials in Buffalo. That Buffalo race was the deepest field ever for a marathon trials and I was wishing he had qualified as well just so I could get a few stories from the race. I think the qualifying standard was 2:20 in those days. It's funny how the standards have gotten a little lax over the years. 2:20 is still the "A" standard but "B" standard is 2:22. To bad they didn't have that in 1980.

As with most runner's he was very modest and kind of held back about his past accomplishments. Perhaps it isn't modesty and just the fact that those days are past and why dwell on them, he's a great runner today as well.

5 miles in a little under 35:00 minutes. It was the first time since Boston that I really felt back back to normal and the effort I was putting into it was giving me the pace I expected. It was a good run.