I met someone like that today.
My friend Jose and I volunteered at our first NY Cares Project. http://www.nycares.com NYC Cares is awesome because they have many different types of projects throughout the city and you only sign up when you're available. There's no monthly commitment at all. If you don't live in NYC, I know they have chapters all over the country. Anyway, our project this morning was to volunteer with The Achilles Club, which is a group for runners with disabilities. Some of the runners were blind, so the volunteers would guide them with a rope or bandana, or in my case, with my voice. I ran next to him and just guided him to bear right or left if we approached another runner. My partner was a 73-year-old blind man who was a power walker. And boy could this man walk. His walk was about the pace of my light jog. He power walks marathons! Then at the last stretch of the 4 miles, he told me he was going to end it with a 'light jog'. His light jog was a fast jog for me. Eight years ago, at the age of 65, with no experience running, my partner today met the founder of the Achilles Club. Nine months later, he completed his first marathon. By the end of the 4 miles today, my knee was throbbing. I'm completely humbled by the fact that a 73-year-old's 4-mile power walk completely kicked my ass.
Everyone I met today had completed a marathon. I chatted with a man with a prosthetic leg who often completes 100 mile bike races. Some of the athletes in the Achilles Club had prosthetic legs, some had suffered a stroke, and some were blind. After my experience today, I decided to make running in Central Park with the Achilles Club part of my regular Saturday routine.
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